CENTROMERES - MOVING CHROMOSOMES THROUGH-SPACE AND TIME

Centromeres have played a pivotal role in the evolution of the eukaryo te genome. Their indispensable involvement in chromosome segregation a nd the evolution of linkage groups throughout all eukaryotic lineages intuitively suggests conserved structure and function. Unexpectedly, r ecent molecular and biochemical analyses of centromeres have revealed highly divergent patterns in both DNA sequence and organization. Unlik e the microtubules with which they interact, centromeres have undergon e rapid diversification during evolution while retaining the same func tional attributes. The most recent evidence indicates that centromeres may be species-specific entities composed of highly variable DNA fami lies that interact with an array of non-histone proteins before attach ment to the microtubules.