Analysis of the centromeric regions of the human genome assembly.

The sequence of the human genome is not yet complete, and major gaps remain at the centromere region of each chromosome, which is comprised of repetitive alpha satellite DNA. In this article, we describe the sequences in the vicinity of the centromere that are included in the current genome assembly, analyze the approximately 7Mb of alpha satellite that have been assembled thus far and anticipate the nature of the sequences that remain to be accounted for.