The Ndc80 complex: integrating the kinetochore's many movements

The Ndc80 complex lies at the heart of the kinetochore, a large protein machine that accurately segregates chromosomes during cell division. The Ndc80 complex has structural roles in assembling the kinetochore, but also functions to congress chromosomes and to signal the spindle checkpoint. It directly binds to microtubules and is currently the best candidate for the long-sought protein that couples microtubule depolymerization to chromosome movement. A combination of structural and genetic data has recently converged to generate the first models for this fascinating motor activity. Additionally, recent data point to an increasingly dynamic role for Ndc80 in the kinetochore-one which involves not only simple binding to microtubules but also shifts in complex shape and its location within the overall kinetochore structure. In this review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of the Ndc80 complex and address future areas of research.