title: Functional rice centromeres are marked by a satellite repeat and a centromere-specific retrotransposon.
abstract: The centromere of eukaryotic chromosomes is essential for the faithful segregation and inheritance of genetic information. In the majority of eukaryotic species, centromeres are associated with highly repetitive DNA, and as a consequence, the boundary for a functional centromere is difficult to define. In this study, we demonstrate that the centers of rice centromeres are occupied by a 155-bp satellite repeat, CentO, and a centromere-specific retrotransposon, CRR. The CentO satellite is located within the chromosomal regions to which the spindle fibers attach. CentO is quantitatively variable among the 12 rice centromeres, ranging from 65 kb to 2 Mb, and is interrupted irregularly by CRR elements. The break points of 14 rice centromere misdivision events were mapped to the middle of the CentO arrays, suggesting that the CentO satellite is located within the functional domain of rice centromeres. Our results demonstrate that the CentO satellite may be a key DNA element for rice centromere function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
authors.forename: Zhukuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Fenggao
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Langdon
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.forename: C Robin
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Buell
authors.forename: Minghong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Frederick R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Blattner
authors.forename: Jiming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002455:Cell Division / Q000235:genetics; D002503:Centromere / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics*; D018626:Retroelements / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D020080:Tandem Repeat Sequences / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant; D018626:Retroelements