The Host Adapted Fungal Pathogens of Pneumocystis Genus Utilize Genic Regional Centromeres.

ABSTRACT: Centromeres are genomic regions that coordinate accurate chromosomal segregation during mitosis and meiosis. Yet, despite their essential function, centromeres evolve rapidly across eukaryotes. Centromeres are often the sites of chromosomal breaks which contribute to genome shuffling and promote speciation by inhibiting gene flow. How centromeres form in strongly host-adapted fungal pathogens has yet to be investigated. Here, we characterized the centromere structures in closely related species of mammalian-specific pathogens of the fungal phylum of Ascomycota. Methods allowing reliable continuous culture of Pneumocystis species do not currently exist, precluding genetic manipulation. CENP-A, a variant of histone H3, is the epigenetic marker that defines centromeres in most eukaryot

SUBMITTER: Cisse OH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10327204 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature