Malik Harmit S, Henikoff Steven
Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109, USA.
Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2002 Dec;12(6):711-8. doi: 10.1016/s0959-437x(02)00351-9.
Centromeres mediate the faithful segregation of eukaryotic chromosomes. Yet they display a remarkable range in size and complexity across eukaryotes, from approximately 125 bp in budding yeast to megabases of repetitive satellites in human chromosomes. Mapping the fine-scale structure of complex centromeres has proven to be daunting, but recent studies have provided a first glimpse into this unexplored bastion of our genomes and the evolutionary pressures that shape it. Evolutionary studies of proteins that bind centromeric DNA suggest genetic conflict as the underlying basis of centromere complexity, drawing interesting parallels with the myriad selfish elements that employ centromeric activity for their own survival.
着丝粒介导真核生物染色体的准确分离。然而，它们在真核生物中的大小和复杂性差异显著，从芽殖酵母中约125个碱基对到人类染色体中数百万碱基对的重复卫星序列。绘制复杂着丝粒的精细结构已被证明具有挑战性，但最近的研究首次让我们得以窥探这个基因组中未被探索的堡垒以及塑造它的进化压力。对结合着丝粒DNA的蛋白质进行的进化研究表明，基因冲突是着丝粒复杂性的潜在基础，这与众多利用着丝粒活性来实现自身生存的自私元件有着有趣的相似之处。
