Half of all vertebrate species share a series of chromosome fusions that preceded the teleost genome duplication (TGD), but we do not understand the causative evolutionary mechanisms. The "Robertsonian-translocation hypothesis" suggests a regular fusion of each ancestral acro- or telocentric chromosome to just one other by centromere fusions, thus halving the karyotype. An alternative "genome-s...

Oculo-auriculovertebral dysplasia (Goldenhar) is a congenital syndrome. Its phenotype differs from craniofacial anomalies to cardiac, vertebral or central nervous system defects. This syndrome is rare and its etiology is not apparent yet. Pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 is one of the most common structural balanced chromosomal aberrations with its incidences 15% to 25%. Herein we present ...

Sister chromatid cohesion provides the mechanistic basis, together with spindle microtubules, for generating tension between bioriented chromosomes in metaphase. Pericentric chromatin forms an intramolecular loop that protrudes bidirectionally from the sister chromatid axis. The centromere lies on the surface of the chromosome at the apex of each loop. The cohesin and condensin structural maint...

In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the RNAi pathway is required for the formation of pericentric heterochromatin, proper chromosome segregation, and repression of pericentric meiotic recombination. Here we demonstrate that, when the activity of the histone H3 Lys 14 (H3K14) acetyltransferase Mst2 is eliminated, the RNAi machinery is no longer required for pericentric heterochromatin functions. We fu...

The kinetochore is a complex protein-DNA assembly that provides the mechanical linkage between microtubules and the centromere DNA of each chromosome. Centromere DNA in all eukaryotes is wrapped around a unique nucleosome that contains the histone H3 variant CENP-A (Cse4p in Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Here, we report that the inner kinetochore complex (CBF3) is required for pericentric DNA loop...

The family Phyllostomidae belongs to the most abundant and diverse group of bats in the Neotropics with more morphological traits variation at the family level than any other group within mammals. In this work, we present data of chromosome banding (G, C and Ag-NOR) and Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) for representatives of Rhinophylla pumilio Peters, 1865 collected in four states of ...