Separase | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Identifiers | |||||||||
EC number | 3.4.22.49 | ||||||||
CAS number | 351527-77-0 | ||||||||
Databases | |||||||||
IntEnz | IntEnz view | ||||||||
BRENDA | BRENDA entry | ||||||||
ExPASy | NiceZyme view | ||||||||
KEGG | KEGG entry | ||||||||
MetaCyc | metabolic pathway | ||||||||
PRIAM | profile | ||||||||
PDB structures | RCSB PDB PDBe PDBsum | ||||||||
|
Search | |
---|---|
PMC | articles |
PubMed | articles |
NCBI | proteins |
Separase, also known as separin, is a cysteine protease responsible for triggering anaphase by hydrolysing cohesin, which is the protein responsible for binding sister chromatids during the early stage of anaphase. In humans, separin is encoded by the ESPL1 gene.
In S. cerevisiae, separase is encoded by the esp1 gene. Esp1 was discovered by Kim Nasmyth and coworkers in 1998.
Stable cohesion between sister chromatids before anaphase and their timely separation during anaphase are critical for cell division and chromosome inheritance. In vertebrates, sister chromatid cohesion is released in 2 steps via distinct mechanisms. The first step involves phosphorylation of STAG1 or STAG2 in the cohesin complex. The second step involves cleavage of the cohesin subunit SCC1 (RAD21) by separase, which initiates the final separation of sister chromatids.