Abstract: The chromatin assembly factor 1 (CAF-1) is a three-subunit protein complex that functions in chaperoning histone deposition.The smallest subunit of Drosophila CAF-1,dCAF-1-p55,together with the other two subunits dCAF-1-p180 and dCAF-1-p105,participates in the deposition of histone H3 and H4 onto the newly synthesized DNA.In addition to the CAF-1 complex,dCAF-1-p55 is also found in several other complexes such as NURF,PRC2 and Sin3-HDAC1 complex,suggesting that it plays multiple roles other than a histone chaperone.Here we report a new allele of dCA F-1-p55 generated by gene targeting.We show that dCAF-1-p55 loss-of-function led to developmental delay and lethality.Further investigations demonstrated that dCAF-1-p55 deficient cells exhibited defects in metaphase chromosome condensation,sister chromatids association and anaphase chromosomes segregation,which are premonitory signs of chromosome instability (CIN).Taken together,these results indicate that dCAF-1-p55 plays a role in the maintenance of chromosomal stability,likely to protect the cells from CIN and the proneness to cancer.