Transgenerational propagation and quantitative maintenance of paternal centromeres depends on Cid/Cenp-A presence in Drosophila sperm.

ABSTRACT: In Drosophila melanogaster, as in many animal and plant species, centromere identity is specified epigenetically. In proliferating cells, a centromere-specific histone H3 variant (CenH3), named Cid in Drosophila and Cenp-A in humans, is a crucial component of the epigenetic centromere mark. Hence, maintenance of the amount and chromosomal location of CenH3 during mitotic proliferation is important. Interestingly, CenH3 may have different roles during meiosis and the onset of embryogenesis. In gametes of Caenorhabditis elegans, and possibly in plants, centromere marking is independent of CenH3. Moreover, male gamete differentiation in animals often includes global nucleosome for protamine exchange that potentially could remove CenH3 nucleosomes. Here we demonstrate that the control of Cid l

SUBMITTER: Raychaudhuri N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3531477 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature