Telomeres and telomerase: broad effects on cell growth.
During the past year, major advances have been made in understanding the link between telomerase expression and cell immortality. Studies of yeast telomeres have revealed an unexpected role for the non-homologous end-joining machinery in telomere maintenance and have provided the first definitive evidence that telomeres play a critical role in meiosis. Identification of new telomere proteins has led to a better understanding of vertebrate telomere structure and function.
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008540:Meiosis / Q000235:genetics*; D019098:Telomerase / Q000378:metabolism*; D016615:Telomere; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000235:genetics