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Updated: Sep 15, 2025

Telomere Length and Telomerase Activity; A Yin and Yang of Cell Senescence
Published on: May 22, 2013
A Chromosome End Without Terminal Telomere Repeats is Stable for Multiple Cell Divisions
Haitao Zhang1, Julien Audry1,2, Kurt W Runge1,3
1Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, 44195 USA.
Abstract:
We have formed new short telomeres in Schizosaccharomyces pombe using an inducible nuclease that cuts near telomere repeats in cells that lack, cannot recruit or cannot fully activate telomerase. Sequencing these new telomeres showed that cells can divide at least 4 times with ~30 bp of non-telomeric sequence at the chromosome end in cells lacking telomerase, which contrasts with current models for the roles of terminal single-stranded telomere repeats and the telomere proteins in telomere protection and replication. Cells that cannot recruit or activate telomerase had similar results, with additional rearrangements or telomere repeat addition, respectively.
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