title: Heterochromatin integrity affects chromosome reorganization after centromere dysfunction.
abstract: The centromere is essential for the inheritance of genetic information on eukaryotic chromosomes. Epigenetic regulation of centromere identity has been implicated in genome stability, karyotype evolution, and speciation. However, little is known regarding the manner in which centromere dysfunction affects the chromosomal architectures. Here we show that in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the conditional deletion of the centromere produces survivors that carry either a neocentromere-acquired chromosome at the subtelomeric region or an acentric chromosome rescued by intertelomere fusion with either of the remaining chromosomes. The ratio of neocentromere formation to telomere fusion is considerably decreased by the inactivation of genes involved in RNA interference-dependent heterochromatin formation. By affecting the modes of chromosomal reorganization, the genomic distribution of heterochromatin may influence the fate of karyotype evolution.
authors: Division of Cell Biology, Institute of Life Science, Kurume University, Japan.
authors: Kojiro
authors: K
authors: Ishii
authors: Yuki
authors: Y
authors: Ogiyama
authors: Yuji
authors: Y
authors: Chikashige
authors: Saeko
authors: S
authors: Soejima
authors: Fumie
authors: F
authors: Masuda
authors: Tatsuyuki
authors: T
authors: Kakuma
authors: Yasushi
authors: Y
authors: Hiraoka
authors: Kohta
authors: K
authors: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D002503:Centromere / Q000502:physiology*; D047369:Chromatin Immunoprecipitation; D020090:Chromosome Segregation; D015825:Chromosomes, Fungal / Q000502:physiology*; D004261:DNA Replication; D015870:Gene Expression; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D007621:Karyotyping; D018386:Kinetochores / Q000378:metabolism; D008745:Methylation; D008938:Mitosis; D009154:Mutation; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016615:Telomere / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D006570:Heterochromatin; D006657:Histones; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins