Centromeres articles from across Nature Portfolio

A comparison of two complete sets of human centromeres reveals that the centromeres show at least a 4.1-fold increase in single-nucleotide variation compared with their unique flanks, and up to 3-fold variation in size, resulting from an accelerated mutation rate.

By using a CRISPR/dCas9 biosensor that reads DNA methylation of α-satellite repeats in live cells, we identify a signaling pathway linking the chromatin and transcriptional state of repeats to the integrity of epithelial adherens junctions.

Repetitive DNA intervals play important roles in the nucleus but are difficult to study due to their reiterated nature. Tigerfish introduces a novel computational platform for the design of interval-specific in situ hybridization probes.

Frogs are an ancient and ecologically diverse group of amphibians that include important model systems. This paper reports genome sequences of multiple frog species, revealing remarkable stability of frog chromosomes and centromeres, along with highly recombinogenic extended subtelomeres.

Centromeres are defined by the histone variant CENP-A. Using single-molecule fluorescence and cryoEM, this study shows that CENP-A and the centromeric protein CENP-B collaborate to create dynamic and open chromatin, aiding centromeric factor binding.

Super-resolution imaging and RNA clock analyses show that exposure of mouse oocytes to ionizing radiation compromises chromatin organization and dramatically accelerates biological aging.

Centromere identity must be maintained through multiple generations. A new study reveals a Constitutive Centromere-Associated Network (CCAN)-dependent retention of CENP-A, a key epigenetic mark for centromeres, in centromeres during DNA replication and a replication-dependent error correction to eliminate ectopic CENP-A in chromosome arms.

Tubulin in meiotic oocyte spindles is asymmetrically tyrosinated, and this spindle asymmetry can drive biased, non-Mendelian inheritance of chromosomes.

Micronucleation of missegregated chromatin can lead to substantial chromosome rearrangements via chromothripsis. However, the molecular details of micronucleus-based chromothripsis are still unclear. Now, an elegant system that specifically induces missegregation of the Y chromosome provides insight into this process, including a role for non-homologous end joining.

DNA supercoiling and the formation of loops suppresses the ATR checkpoint and is required for proper replication of centromeric DNA.