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Sequences associated with A chromosome centromeres are present throughout the maize B chromosome

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Abstract

Maize chromosome spreads containing the supernumerary B chromosome were hybridized with probes from various repetitive elements including CentC, CRM, and CentA, which have been localized to centromeric regions on the A chromosomes. Repetitive elements that are enriched or found exclusively near the centromeres of A chromosomes hybridized to many sites distinct from the centromere on the B chromosome. To examine whether these elements recruit kinetochore proteins at locations other than the canonical B centromere, cells were labeled with antibodies against CENH3, a key kinetochore protein. No labeling was detected outside the normal centromere and no evidence of B chromosome holocentromeric activity was observed. This finding suggests that, as in other higher eukaryotes, DNA sequence alone is insufficient to dictate kinetochore location in plants. Additionally, examination of the B centromere region in pachytene chromosomes revealed that the B-specific element ZmBs hybridizes to a much larger region than the site of hybridization of CentC, CRM, and CentA and the labeling by anti-CENH3 antibodies.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grant DBI 9975827 from the National Science Foundation Plant Genome Initiative.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, 117 Tucker Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Jonathan C. Lamb, Akio Kato & James A. Birchler

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  1. Jonathan C. Lamb
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  2. Akio Kato
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  3. James A. Birchler
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Correspondence to James A. Birchler.

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Communicated by I. Schubert

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Lamb, J.C., Kato, A. & Birchler, J.A. Sequences associated with A chromosome centromeres are present throughout the maize B chromosome. Chromosoma 113, 337–349 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-004-0319-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00412-004-0319-z

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