Journal
GENOME BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
Volume 14, Issue 5, Pages -Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac054
Keywords
centromere; satellite DNA; non-B DNA; centromere evolution; repetitive DNA; G-quadruplexes
Categories
Funding
- National Institute of Health [R35GM131868]
- Beckman Scholar fellowship
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The study analyzed the secondary structures of centromere DNA sequences in Drosophila melanogaster and found that noncanonical DNA structures are common features of all centromeres in this species, potentially influencing centromere specificity.
Centromeres are essential chromosomal regions that mediate the accurate inheritance of genetic information during eukaryotic cell division. Despite their conserved function, centromeres do not contain conserved DNA sequences and are instead epigenetically marked by the presence of the centromere-specific histone H3 variant centromeric protein A. The functional contribution of centromeric DNA sequences to centromere identity remains elusive. Previous work found that dyad symmetries with a propensity to adopt noncanonical secondary DNA structures are enriched at the centromeres of several species. These findings lead to the proposal that noncanonical DNA structures may contribute to centromere specification. Here, we analyze the predicted secondary structures of the recently identified centromere DNA sequences of Drosophila melanogaster. Although dyad symmetries are only enriched on the Y centromere, we find that other types of noncanonical DNA structures, including melted DNA and G-quadruplexes, are common features of all D. melanogaster centromeres. Our work is consistent with previous models suggesting that noncanonical DNA secondary structures may be conserved features of centromeres with possible implications for centromere specification.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available