Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 112, Issue 11, Pages E1263-E1271Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1418248112
Keywords
centromere misdivision; epigenetics; de novo centromere; centromere inactivation
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Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [31130033, 31320103912]
- National Science Foundation [DBI 0922703]
- Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems
- Direct For Biological Sciences [0922703] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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The ability of centromeres to alternate between active and inactive states indicates significant epigenetic aspects controlling centromere assembly and function. In maize (Zea mays), misdivision of the B chromosome centromere on a translocation with the short arm of chromosome 9 (TB-9Sb) can produce many variants with varying centromere sizes and centromeric DNA sequences. In such derivatives of TB-9Sb, we found a de novo centromere on chromosome derivative 3-3, which has no canonical centromeric repeat sequences. This centromere is derived from a 288-kb region on the short arm of chromosome 9, and is 19 megabases (Mb) removed from the translocation breakpoint of chromosome 9 in TB-9Sb. The functional B centromere in progenitor telo2-2 is deleted from derivative 3-3, but some B-repeat sequences remain. The de novo centromere of derivative 3-3 becomes inactive in three further derivatives with new centromeres being formed elsewhere on each chromosome. Our results suggest that de novo centromere initiation is quite common and can persist on chromosomal fragments without a canonical centromere. However, we hypothesize that when de novo centromeres are initiated in opposition to a larger normal centromere, they are cleared from the chromosome by inactivation, thus maintaining karyotype integrity.
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