Keywords: centromere drive

Probing “Selfish” Centromeres Unveils an Evolutionary Arms Race

M. Lampson,  The Scientist,  2023.
The so-called Robertsonian (Rb) fusions that led to these rapid karyotype changes are relatively common chromosomal rearrangements. But their accumulation in the populations of Madeira Island and in multiple other isolated mouse populations elsewhere is likely due to another ...
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Driving lessons: a brief (personal) history of centromere drive

H. S. Malik,  Genetics,  2022.
Meiosis is an important specialized cell division in many eukaryotic species, including fungi, plants, and animals. Meiosis results in the production of haploid gametes starting from a diploid cell via 1 round of replication and 2 rounds of cell division. In an influential ...
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Centromere drive: chromatin conflict in meiosis

P. Talbert and S. Henikoff,  Current Opinion in Genetics and Development,  77:102005. 2022.
Centromeres are essential loci in eukaryotes that are necessary for the faithful segregation of chromosomes in mitosis and meiosis. Centromeres organize the kinetochore, the protein machine that attaches sister chromatids or homologous chromosomes to spindle microtubules and ...
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Centromere drive: chromatin conflict in meiosis

P. Talbert and S. Henikoff,  Current Opinion in Genetics and Development,  77:102005. 2022.
Centromeres are essential loci in eukaryotes that are necessary for the faithful segregation of chromosomes in mitosis and meiosis. Centromeres organize the kinetochore, the protein machine that attaches sister chromatids or homologous chromosomes to spindle microtubules and ...
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Meiotic drive in house mice: mechanisms, consequences, and insights for human biology

U. P. Arora and B. L. Dumont,  Chromosome Research,  2022.
Meiotic drive occurs when one allele at a heterozygous site cheats its way into a disproportionate share of functional gametes, violating Mendel's law of equal segregation. This genetic conflict typically imposes a fitness cost to individuals, often by disrupting the process of ...
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Centromere drive: model systems and experimental progress

D. Dudka and M. A. Lampson,  Chromosome Research,  2022.
Centromeres connect chromosomes and spindle microtubules to ensure faithful chromosome segregation. Paradoxically, despite this conserved function, centromeric DNA evolves rapidly and centromeric proteins show signatures of positive selection. The centromere drive hypothesis ...
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Evolution of eukaryotic centromeres by drive and suppression of selfish genetic elements

T. Kumon and M. A. Lampson,  Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology,  2022.
Despite the universal requirement for faithful chromosome segregation, eukaryotic centromeres are rapidly evolving. It is hypothesized that rapid centromere evolution represents an evolutionary arms race between selfish genetic elements that drive, or propagate at the expense of ...
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Centromere function in asymmetric cell division in Drosophila female and male germline stem cells

A. M. Kochendoerfer, F. Modafferi and E. M. Dunleavy,  Open Biology,  11:210107. 2021.
The centromere is the constricted chromosomal region required for the correct separation of the genetic material at cell division. The kinetochore protein complex assembles at the centromere and captures microtubules emanating from the centrosome to orchestrate chromosome ...
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Flavors of Non-Random Meiotic Segregation of Autosomes and Sex Chromosomes

F. Pajpach, T. Wu, L. Shearwin-Whyatt, K. Jones and F. Grützner,  Genes,  12. 2021.
Segregation of chromosomes is a multistep process occurring both at mitosis and meiosis to ensure that daughter cells receive a complete set of genetic information. Critical components in the chromosome segregation include centromeres, kinetochores, components of sister chromatid ...
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Parallel pathways for recruiting effector proteins determine centromere drive and suppression

T. Kumon, J. Ma, R. B. Akins, D. Stefanik, C. E. Nordgren, J. Kim, M. T. Levine and M. A. Lampson,  Cell,  2021.
Selfish centromere DNA sequences bias their transmission to the egg in female meiosis. Evolutionary theory suggests that centromere proteins evolve to suppress costs of this "centromere drive." In hybrid mouse models with genetically different maternal and paternal centromeres, ...
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Selfish chromosomal drive shapes recent centromeric histone evolution in monkeyflowers

F. R. Finseth, T. C. Nelson and L. Fishman,  PLOS Genetics,  17:e1009418. 2021.
Centromeres must mediate faithful chromosomal transmission during cell division and sexual reproduction, but both the DNA and protein components of centromeres diverge rapidly across species. The selfish centromere model argues that this paradoxical diversity results from a ...
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Holocentric Chromosomes Probably Do Not Prevent Centromere Drive in Cyperaceae

M. Kratka, J. Smerda, K. Lojdova, P. Bures and F. Zedek,  Frontiers in Plant Science,  12:9. 2021.
In response to these selfish centromeres, the histone protein CenH3, which recruits kinetochore components, adaptively evolves to restore chromosomal parity and counter the detrimental effects of centromere drive. Holocentric chromosomes, whose kinetochores are assembled along ...
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A test for meiotic drive in hybrids between Australian and Timor zebra finches

U. Knief, W. Forstmeier, Y. Pei, J. Wolf and B. Kempenaers,  Ecology and Evolution,  2020.
We did not find evidence for meiotic driver loci on specific chromosomes. However, we observed a weak overall transmission bias toward Timor alleles at centromeres in females (transmission probability of Australian alleles of 47%, nominal p = 6 ? 10?5). While this is in line ...
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