Centromeric transposable elements and epigenetic status drive karyotypic variation in the eastern hoolock gibbon.

ABSTRACT: Great apes have maintained a stable karyotype with few large-scale rearrangements; in contrast, gibbons have undergone a high rate of chromosomal rearrangements coincident with rapid centromere turnover. Here, we characterize fully assembled centromeres in the eastern hoolock gibbon, Hoolock leuconedys (HLE), finding a diverse group of transposable elements (TEs) that differ from the canonical alpha-satellites found across centromeres of other apes. We find that HLE centromeres contain a CpG methylation centromere dip region, providing evidence that this epigenetic feature is conserved in the absence of satellite arrays. We uncovered a variety of atypical centromeric features, including protein-coding genes and mismatched replication timing. Further, we identify duplications and deletions

SUBMITTER: Hartley GA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12008813 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature