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GrainGenes Reference Report: PLC-16-571

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Reference
PLC-16-571
Title
Maize centromeres: Organization and functional adaptation in the genetic background of oat
Journal
Plant Cell
Year
2004
Volume
16
Pages
571-581
Author
[ Hide all but 1 of 7 ]
Jin WW
Melo JR
Nagaki K
Talbert PB
Henikoff S
Dawe RK
Jiang JM
Abstract
Summary: Centromeric DNA sequences in multicellular eukaryotes are often highly repetitive and are not unique to a specific centromere or to centromeres at all. Thus, it is a major challenge to study the fine structure of individual plant centromeres. We used a DNA fiber-fluorescence in situ hybridization approach to study individual maize (Zea mays) centromeres using oat (Avena sativa)-maize chromosome addition lines. The maize centromere-specific satellite repeat CentC in the addition lines allowed us to delineate the size and organization of centromeric DNA of individual maize chromosomes. We demonstrate that the cores of maize centromeres contain mainly CentC arrays and clusters of a centromere-specific retrotransposon, CRM. CentC and CRM sequences are highly intermingled. The amount of CentC/CRM sequence varies from ~ 300 to >2800 kb among different centromeres. The association of CentC and CRM with centromeric histone H3 (CENH3) was visualized by a sequential detection procedure on stretched centromeres. The analysis revealed that CENH3 is always associated with CentC and CRM but that not all CentC or CRM sequences are associated with CENH3. We further demonstrate that in the chromosomal addition lines in which two CenH3 genes were present, one from oat and one from maize, the oat CENH3 was consistently incorporated by the maize centromeres
External Databases
Pubmed: 14973167
Keyword
adaptation
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