CBF3 complex

GO:0031518 · Other · Multiprotein complex · Proposed

A multisubunit protein complex that binds to centromeric DNA and initiates kinetochore assembly. In yeast, this complex consists of four subunits, namely Ctf13p, Skp1p, Cep3p and Cbf2p. [GO:0031518]

Part of: GO:0000775 — chromosome, centromeric region (no local record); kinetochore (GO:0000776)

UniProt location names: UniProt Consortium, CC BY 4.0. Reference label and route sources.

Components

Component	Type	Part of / acts on	Grounding	Genes	Essential	Role
Ctf13 subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	CTF13	UNKNOWN	F-box CBF3 constituent that complexes with Skp1 during budding-yeast CBF3 assembly. `GO:0031518` GO:0031518 defines Ctf13p as one of four yeast CBF3-complex subunits. `DOI:10.15252/embj.201798134` Leber, Nans and Singleton 2018 structurally analyzed the Cep3-Skp1-Ctf13 core of CBF3.
Skp1 subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	SKP1	UNKNOWN	CBF3 constituent that binds the F-box protein Ctf13 during initial CBF3 assembly. `GO:0031518` GO:0031518 defines Skp1p as one of four yeast CBF3-complex subunits. `DOI:10.15252/embj.201798134` Leber, Nans and Singleton 2018 defined the Ctf13-Skp1 interaction in a core CBF3 assembly.
Cep3 subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	CEP3	UNKNOWN	Sequence-specific DNA-binding constituent of the CBF3 complex. `GO:0031518` GO:0031518 defines Cep3p as one of four yeast CBF3-complex subunits. `DOI:10.15252/embj.201798134` Leber, Nans and Singleton 2018 structurally analyzed Cep3 with Skp1 and Ctf13 in the core CBF3 complex.
Ndc10/Cbf2 subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	NDC10	UNKNOWN	Named CBF3 constituent present in the budding-yeast CBF3-centromere complex. `GO:0031518` GO:0031518 defines Cbf2p as one of four yeast CBF3-complex subunits. `DOI:10.1038/s41594-018-0154-1` Yan et al. 2018 structurally analyzed the budding-yeast CBF3-centromere complex.

Taxonomic distribution

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — COMMON: Budding yeast has a four-subunit CBF3 complex that recognizes point-centromere DNA and initiates kinetochore assembly. [DOI:10.15252/embj.201798134]

Canonical examples

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — Reference point-centromere yeast system used for structural analysis of the CBF3-centromere complex. [DOI:10.1038/s41594-018-0154-1]

Functions

centromeric DNA-dependent kinetochore assembly — CBF3 binds centromeric DNA and nucleates kinetochore assembly at the budding-yeast point centromere.
- GO:0031518 GO:0031518 defines the CBF3 complex by centromeric DNA binding and kinetochore-assembly initiation.
- DOI:10.15252/embj.201798134 Leber, Nans and Singleton 2018 analyzed the Cep3-Skp1-Ctf13 CBF3 core involved in budding-yeast kinetochore assembly.

Mechanism graphs

CBF3 recognizes point-centromere DNA during kinetochore assembly (ASSEMBLY)

The budding-yeast CBF3 complex couples sequence-specific centromeric DNA recognition to the earliest steps of kinetochore assembly at point centromeres.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
Ctf13 subunit	assembles with	Skp1 subunit	`DOI:10.15252/embj.201798134` Leber, Nans and Singleton 2018 reported that F-box-mediated Ctf13-Skp1 binding is responsible for initial CBF3 assembly.
Cep3 subunit	assembles into	CBF3 complex	`DOI:10.15252/embj.201798134` Leber, Nans and Singleton 2018 reconstructed the Cep3-Skp1-Ctf13 core of CBF3.
Ndc10/Cbf2 subunit	assembles into	CBF3 complex	`GO:0031518` GO:0031518 names Cbf2p as a yeast CBF3-complex subunit.
CBF3 complex	binds centromeric DNA in	chromosome, centromeric region	`GO:0031518` GO:0031518 defines the CBF3 complex by centromeric DNA binding and kinetochore-assembly initiation. `DOI:10.1038/s41594-018-0154-1` Yan et al. 2018 structurally analyzed the budding-yeast CBF3-centromere complex.

Discussions

CURATION_TODO (OPEN): Resolve exact source-neutral family groundings and essentiality calls for Ctf13, Skp1, Cep3 and Ndc10/Cbf2 within the budding-yeast CBF3 complex. This first record captures the GO-defined CBF3 subunit set but intentionally leaves subunit grounding at reviewed-label-only instead of guessing InterPro, Pfam or NCBIfam identifiers.

Evidence

GO:0031518 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the CBF3 complex.
GO:0140513 Gene Ontology cellular-component parent term for nuclear protein-containing complexes.
GO:0000775 — chromosome, centromeric region Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the chromosome centromeric region.
GO:0000776 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for kinetochore.
DOI:10.15252/embj.201798134 Leber, Nans and Singleton 2018, Structural basis for assembly of the CBF3 kinetochore complex, The EMBO Journal.
DOI:10.1038/s41594-018-0154-1 Yan et al. 2018, Architecture of the CBF3-centromere complex of the budding yeast kinetochore, Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

Curation history

2026-09-18T14:12:11Z codex · CREATED_RECORD — Scaffolded by scripts/new_record.py
2026-09-18T14:13:36Z codex · EXPANDED_RECORD — Added GO hierarchy and centromere/kinetochore parthood, four reviewed label-only CBF3 subunits, Saccharomyces cerevisiae scope, centromeric-DNA-dependent assembly function, DOI/GO evidence, a nonmechanistic CBF3 point-centromere assembly graph and a subunit-grounding TODO.
2026-09-18T14:26:48Z codex · ADDRESS_REVIEW — Resolved #1154 and #1155 by narrowing the CBF3 canonical-example note to the Yan et al. CBF3-centromere evidence scope and removing the CBF2 alias from the Ndc10/Cbf2 gene_symbols list.

Source: data/structures/other/cbf3_complex.yaml