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During the cell cycle, the centromeres of chromosomes have important roles and face key challenges, such as mediating successful chromosome segregation during mitosis and faithfully propagating their chromatin state to daughter chromosomes during S phase. This Review describes cell cycle-related features of centromeres, focusing on the nature and dynamics of centromeric chromatin, how it is intricately regulated and the potential implications for disease when these processes are disrupted.
Lineage analyses of multicellular organisms provide key insights into developmental mechanisms and how these developmental trajectories go awry in diverse diseases. This Review discusses the features, technical challenges and latest opportunities of an evolving range of sophisticated genetic techniques for tracking cell lineages in organisms. These strategies include methods for prospective tracking using engineered genetic constructs, as well as retrospective tracking based on naturally occurring somatic mutations.
In this article, the authors review the mechanisms by which the pluripotency gene regulatory network governs the acquisition, maintenance and dissolution of the pluripotent state, including the interaction of these networks with chromatin-mediated and RNA-mediated regulatory mechanisms. They discuss recent evidence for alternative pluripotency states and the factors that affect transitions between these states.
