AUTHOR=Simon Lauriane , Voisin Maxime , Tatout Christophe , Probst Aline V. TITLE=Structure and Function of Centromeric and Pericentromeric Heterochromatin in Arabidopsis thaliana JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science VOLUME=6 YEAR=2015 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2015.01049 DOI=10.3389/fpls.2015.01049 ISSN=1664-462X ABSTRACT=
The centromere is a specific chromosomal region where the kinetochore assembles to ensure the faithful segregation of sister chromatids during mitosis and meiosis. Centromeres are defined by a local enrichment of the specific histone variant CenH3 mostly at repetitive satellite sequences. A larger pericentromeric region containing repetitive sequences and transposable elements surrounds the centromere that adopts a particular chromatin state characterized by specific histone variants and post-translational modifications and forms a transcriptionally repressive chromosomal environment. In the model organism