title: Mammalian satellite DNA: a speaking dumb.
abstract: The tandemly organized highly repetitive satellite DNA is the main DNA component of centromeric/pericentromeric constitutive heterochromatin. For almost a century, it was considered as "junk DNA," only a small portion of which is used for kinetochore formation. The current review summarizes recent data about satellite DNA transcription. The possible functions of the transcripts are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cytology RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia. natella@mail.cytspb.rssi.ru
authors.forename: Natella I
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Enukashvily
authors.forename: Nikita V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Ponomartsev
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002503:Centromere; D004276:DNA, Satellite; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006570:Heterochromatin; D006801:Humans; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D004276:DNA, Satellite; D006570:Heterochromatin