Defining the consequences of endogenous genetic variation within a novel family of <i>Schizosaccharomyces pombe</i> heterochromatin nucleating sequences

Abstract

AbstractCentromeres are essential for genetic inheritance—they prevent aneuploidy by providing a physical link between DNA and chromosome segregation machinery. In many organisms, centromeres form at sites of repetitive DNAs that help establish the chromatin architecture required for centromere function. These repeats are often rapidly evolving and subject to homogenization, which causes the expansion of novel repeats and sequence turnover. Thus, centromere sequence varies between individuals and across species. This variation can affect centromere function. We utilized Schizosaccharomyces pombeS. pombeRevCenRevCenS. pombe