A Specialized Nucleosome Has a “Point” to Make

Three recent papers, including in this issue, show that the nonhistone protein Scm3 is required for the recruitment of the histone H3 variant Cse4 to centromeres in budding yeast. Scm3 forms a chromatin component with Cse4:histone H4 tetramers that appear to lack H2A/H2B histones. These studies provide key insights into the pathway that recruits Cse4 to centromeres and have important implications for other functions of chromatin.