Centromere (eBook)

Preface 6
Contents 8
Contributors 9
Chapter 1 The Epigenetic Basis for Centromere Identity 11
1.1 Introduction 12
1.2 The Budding Yeast Centromere 13
1.3 The Fission Yeast Centromere 15
1.4 The Maize Centromere 19
1.5 The Fruit Fly Centromere 21
1.6 The Human Centromere 24
1.7 Outlook 33
References 33
Chapter 2 The Centromere-Drive Hypothesis: A Simple Basis for Centromere Complexity 43
2.1 Centromere Complexity in Eukaryotes 44
2.2 Rapid Evolution of Centromeres is not Due to Relaxed Selective Constraint 45
2.3 Centromeric Histones Epigenetically Define Centromeres in Most Eukaryotes 46
2.4 Asymmetry in Female Meiosis as a Driving Force in Evolutionary Biology 52
2.5 Female Meiotic Drive vs. Male Post-Meiotic Dysfunction 53
2.6 The Centromere-Drive Model 54
2.7 The “Centromere-Drive” Model is Not Equivalent to the “Molecular-Drive” Model 56
2.8 The Centromere-Drive Model in Different Taxonomic Groups 57
References 59
Chapter 3 Centromere-Competent DNA: Structure and Evolution 63
3.1 Introduction 64
3.2 Types of Centromere 65
3.3 Evolutionary Mechanisms Affecting Centromeric DNA 66
3.4 Point Centromere DNA and Its Evolution 70
3.5 Regional Centromere DNA and Its Evolution 71
3.6 RNA in Centromere Establishment 77
3.7 Conclusion 81
Chapter 4 The Role of ncRNA in Centromeres: A Lesson from Marsupials 87
4.1 Centromere Structure 88
4.2 Marsupial Models for Studying Centromere Function and Evolution 90
4.3 Noncoding RNA and the Centromere 101
References 106
Chapter 5 Evolutionary New Centromeres in Primates 112
5.1 The “Black Hole” 113
5.2 Evolutionary Repositioned Centromeres in Primates 116
5.3 Hotspots of Neocentromere Formation 117
5.4 Human Repositioned Centromeres “in Progress” 123
5.5 Evolutionary Fate of Novel Centromeres 124
5.6 Technical Note 128
References 129
Chapter 6 Structure and Evolution of Plant Centromeres 162
6.1 Introduction 163
6.2 Centromeric DNA 163
6.3 Centromeric Proteins 168
6.4 Structure of Plant Centromeres 172
6.5 Centromere Modification 177
6.6 Minichromosomes and Artificial Chromosomes 179
6.7 Concluding Remarks 181
References 181
Index 189