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Updated: May 25, 2025

Immunofluorescence Analysis of Endogenous and Exogenous Centromere-kinetochore Proteins
Published on: March 3, 2016
Pericentromeric sequences, where a conservation paradox occurs
1State Key Laboratory of Epigenetic Regulation and Intervention, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Abstract:
Pericentromeric sequences are characterized by their tandem repeat structure, heterochromatinization, and rapid evolution. The rapid evolvement creates highly diversified pericentromeric sequences, which facilitate reproductive isolation, as best exemplified in Drosophila studies. Despite their high variability, pericentromeric sequences ranging from fission yeast to humans are heterochromatinized with the same histone modification, H3K9 methylation. These features present a paradox, how highly variable sequences get recognized by conserved machineries. This Opinion discusses how this paradox is resolved and how diversification and conservation get unified at pericentromeric sequences.
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