Chromosome centromeres are inherited epigenetically
Thursday, November 3, 2011 - 13:30
in Biology & Nature
Centromeres are specialised regions of the genome, which can be identified under the microscope as the primary constriction in X-shaped chromosomes. The cell skeleton, which distributes the chromosomes to the two daughter cells during cell division, attaches to the centromeres. In most organisms the position of the centromere is not determined by the DNA sequence. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg have succeeded in demonstrating that the position, function and inheritance of the centromere are determined by the histone CenH3, a DNA packaging protein. This discovery may help to further the development of artificial human chromosomes, which could be used for gene therapies in medicine.