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The ABCs of centromeres

Accurate segregation of genetic information during cell division relies on a multiprotein complex called the kinetochore, whose formation requires specialized centromeric chromatin. Two papers in this issue of Nature Cell Biology identify a multitude of new vertebrate kinetochore proteins that provide insight into the link between centromeric chromatin and the kinetochore, and suggest a functional relationship between centromeres and nucleoli during interphase.

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Figure 1: A schematic representation of two hypothetical states of the centromere.

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Mellone, B., Erhardt, S. & Karpen, G. The ABCs of centromeres. Nat Cell Biol 8, 427–429 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb0506-427

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