Heterochromatin Integrity Affects Chromosome Reorganization After Centromere Dysfunction

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 321; no. 5892; pp. 1088 - 1091
• Main Authors: Ishii, Kojiro, Ogiyama, Yuki, Chikashige, Yuji, Soejima, Saeko, Masuda, Fumie, Kakuma, Tatsuyuki, Hiraoka, Yasushi, Takahashi, Kohta
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 22-08-2008; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cells; Cellular biology; Centromere - physiology; Centromeres; Chromatin; Chromatin Immunoprecipitation; Chromosome Segregation; Chromosomes; Chromosomes, Fungal - physiology; DNA Replication; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression; Genes, Fungal; Genes. Genome; Genetic loci; Genomes; Genomics; Heterochromatin; Heterochromatin - metabolism; Histones; Histones - metabolism; Karyotype; Karyotyping; Kinetochores; Kinetochores - metabolism; Methylation; Mitosis; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Mutation; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; Schizosaccharomyces - genetics; Schizosaccharomyces - physiology; Schizosaccharomyces pombe; Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins - metabolism; Telomere - physiology; Telomeres; Chromosomal aberration; Ascomycota; Architecture; Chromosome; Fungi; Molecular evolution; Heterochromatin; Centromere; Deletion; Schizosaccharomyces pombe; Mutation; Karyotype; Integrity
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1158699

The centromere is essential for the inheritance of genetic information on eukaryotic chromosomes. Epigenetic regulation of centromere identity has been implicated in genome stability, karyotype evolution, and speciation. However, little is known regarding the manner in which centromere dysfunction affects the chromosomal architectures. Here we show that in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the conditional deletion of the centromere produces survivors that carry either a neocentromere-acquired chromosome at the subtelomeric region or an acentric chromosome rescued by intertelomere fusion with either of the remaining chromosomes. The ratio of neocentromere formation to telomere fusion is considerably decreased by the inactivation of genes involved in RNA interference-dependent heterochromatin formation. By affecting the modes of chromosomal reorganization, the genomic distribution of heterochromatin may influence the fate of karyotype evolution.