title: The transcribed 165-bp CentO satellite is the major functional centromeric element in the wild rice species Oryza punctata.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics and National Center for Plant Gene Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing.
authors.forename: Wenli
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chuandeng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Weidong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jiajun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Hengxiu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Minghong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Zhukuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: 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*
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant; D004276:DNA, Satellite