The Bucentaur (BCNT) family: a long neglected class of essential proteins required for chromatin/chromosome organization and function

The evolutionarily conserved Bucentaur (BCNT) protein superfamily was identified about two decades ago in bovines, but its biological role has long remained largely unknown. Sparse studies in the literature suggest that BCNT proteins perform important functions during development. Only recently, a functional analysis of the Drosophila BCNT ortholog, called YETI, has provided evidence that it is essential for proper fly development and plays roles in chromatin organization. Here, we introduce the BCNT proteins and comprehensively review data that contribute to clarify their function and mechanistic clues on how they may control development in multicellular organisms.