The transcribed 165-bp CentO satellite is the major functional centromeric element in the wild rice species Oryza punctata.
Centromeres are required for faithful segregation of chromosomes in cell division. It is not clear what kind of sequences act as functional centromeres and how centromere sequences are organized in Oryza punctata, a BB genome species. In this study, we found that the CentO centromeric satellites in O. punctata share high homology with the CentO satellites in O. sativa. The O. punctata centromeres are characterized by megabase tandem arrays that are flanked by centromere-specific retrotransposons. Immunostaining with an antibody specific to CENH3 indicates that the 165-bp CentO satellites are the major component for functional centromeres. Moreover, both strands of CentO satellites are highly methylated and transcribed and produce small interfering RNA, which may be important for the maintenance of centromeric heterochromatin and centromere function.
Zhang
Wenli
W
State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing.
Yi
Chuandeng
C
Bao
Weidong
W
Liu
Bin
B
Cui
Jiajun
J
Yu
Hengxiu
H
Cao
Xiaofeng
X
Gu
Minghong
M
Liu
Min
M
Cheng
Zhukuan
Z
D001483:Base Sequence; D002503:Centromere / Q000235:genetics*; D047369:Chromatin Immunoprecipitation; D019175:DNA Methylation; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D004276:DNA, Satellite / Q000235:genetics*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018745:Genome, Plant; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012275:Oryza / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D020080:Tandem Repeat Sequences; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*
D018744:DNA, Plant; D004276:DNA, Satellite