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Updated: Sep 6, 2025

Immunofluorescence Analysis of Endogenous and Exogenous Centromere-kinetochore Proteins
Published on: March 3, 2016
Population Scale Analysis of Centromeric Satellite DNA Reveals Highly Dynamic Evolutionary Patterns and Genomic
Worapong Singchat1,2, Syed Farhan Ahmad1,2,3, Kitipong Jaisamut1
1Animal Genomics and Bioresource Research Unit (AGB Research Unit), Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
Abstract:
Centromeric satellite DNA (cen-satDNA) consists of highly divergent repeat monomers, each approximately 171 base pairs in length. Here, we investigated the genetic diversity in the centromeric region of two primate species: long-tailed (Macaca fascicularis) and rhesus (Macaca mulatta) macaques. Fluorescence in situ hybridization and bioinformatic analysis showed the chromosome-specific organization and dynamic nature of cen-satDNAsequences, and their substantial diversity, with distinct subfamilies across macaque populations, suggesting increased turnovers. Comparative genomics identified high level polymorphisms spanning a 120 bp deletion region and a remarkable interspecific variability in cen-satDNA size and structure. Population structure analysis detected admixture patterns within populations, indicating their high divergence and rapid evolution. However, differences in cen-satDNA profiles appear to not be involved in hybrid incompatibility between the two species. Our study provides a genomic landscape of centromeric repeats in wild macaques and opens new avenues for exploring their impact on the adaptive evolution and speciation of primates.
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