Orderly execution of two critical events during the cell cycle--DNA replication and chromosome segregation--ensures the stable transmission of genetic materials. The cohesin complex physically connects sister chromatids during DNA replication in a process termed sister chromatid cohesion. Timely establishment and dissolution of sister chromatid cohesion is a prerequisite for accurate chromosome segregation, and is tight regulated by the cell cycle machinery and cohesin-associated proteins. In this review, we discuss recent progress in the molecular understanding of sister chromatid cohesion during the mitotic cell cycle.
Keywords: DNA replication; cell cycle; cohesin; cohesin loading; cohesin release; cohesion establishment; mitosis; sister chromatid cohesion.