In contrast to the gene-rich chromosome arms, the sequence of a typical plant centromere contains a large amount of repetitive DNA, most commonly large tracts of tandemly repeated sequences, or satellite DNA. However, the question of how this arrangement of sequences comes about is still a matter of active debate (reviewed in Malik and Henikoff, 2009). Centromere sequence evolves rapidly, possi...

Saccharomyces cerevisiae centromeric DNA is packaged into a highly nuclease-resistant chromatin core of approximately 200 base pairs of DNA. The structure of the centromere in chromosome III is somewhat larger than a 160-base-pair nucleosomal core and encompasses the conserved centromere DNA elements (CDE I, II, and III). Extensive mutational analysis has revealed the sequence requirements for ...

We analyzed linkage and chromosomal positions of genes in A. lyrata ssp. petraea that are located near the centromere (CEN) regions of A. thaliana, using at least two genes from the short and long arms of each chromosome. In our map, genes from all ten A. thaliana chromosome arms are also tightly linked in A. lyrata. Genes from the regions on the two sides of CEN5 have distant map localizations...

A long-range physical map of the centromeric region of human chromosome 7 has been constructed in order to define the region containing sequences with potential involvement in centromere function. The map is centered around alpha satellite DNA, a family of tandemly repeated DNA forming arrays of hundreds to thousands of kilobasepairs at the primary constriction of every human chromosome. Two di...

The centromere complex is a multicomponent structure essential for faithful chromosome transmission. Here we show that the S. cerevisiae centromere protein Cpf1 bends centromere DNA element I (CDEI) with the bend angle ranging from 66 degrees to 71 degrees. CDEI DNA sequences that carry point mutations which lead to reduced Cpf1 binding affinity and in vivo centromere activity are still able to...

Although centromere function is highly conserved in eukaryotes, centromere sequences are highly variable. Only a few centromeres have been sequenced in higher eukaryotes because of their repetitive nature, thus hindering study of their structure and evolution. Conserved single-copy sequences in pericentromeres (CSCPs) of sorghum and maize were found to be diagnostic characteristics of adjacent ...

breast cancer is preservative of the genetic heterogeneous alterations. in the present investigation, fluorescence in situ hybridization (fish) was performed on the fresh primary tumours of 6 patients with infilterating ductal carcinoma. dna-probe for centromere of chromosome 3 (3cen) was applied and in the total analysis, the majority of interphases presented 1 signal (33.6%) which followed by...

The whole-genome duplication (WGD) that occurred during yeast evolution changed the basal number of chromosomes from 8 to 16. However, the number of chromosomes in post-WGD species now ranges between 10 and 16, and the number in non-WGD species (Zygosaccharomyces, Kluyveromyces, Lachancea, and Ashbya) ranges between 6 and 8. To study the mechanism by which chromosome number changes, we traced t...

In most organisms, meiotic chromosome segregation is dependent on crossovers (COs), which enable pairs of homologous chromosomes to segregate to opposite poles at meiosis I. In mammals, the majority of meiotic chromosome segregation errors result from a lack of COs between homologs. Observations in Homo sapiens and Drosophila melanogaster have revealed a second class of exceptional events in wh...

Deletions in the Drosophila minichromosome Dp1187 were used to investigate the genetic interactions of trans-acting genes with the centromere. Mutations in several genes known to have a role in chromosome inheritance were shown to have dominant effects on the stability of minichromosomes with partially defective centromeres. Heterozygous mutations in the ncd and klp3A kinesin-like protein genes...