A new class of retroviral and satellite encoded small RNAs emanates from mammalian centromeres

Dawn M. Carone, Mark S. Longo, Gianni C. Ferreri, Laura Hall, Melissa Harris, Nicole Shook, Kira V. Bulazel, Benjamin R. Carone, Craig Obergfell, Michael J. O'Neill, Rachel J. O'Neill

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

117 Scopus citations

Abstract

The transcriptional framework of the eukaryotic centromere core has been described in budding yeast and rice, but for most eukaryotes and all vertebrates it remains largely unknown. The lack of large pericentric repeats in the tammar wallaby has made it possible to map and identify the transcriptional units at the centromere in a mammalian species for the first time. We show that these transcriptional units, comprised of satellites and a retrovirus, are bound by centromere proteins and that they are the source of a novel class of small RNA. The endogenous retrovirus from which these small RNAs are derived is now known to be in the centromere domain of several vertebrate classes. The discovery of this new RNA form brings together several independent lines of evidence that point to a conserved retroviral-encoded processed RNA entity within eukaryotic centromeres.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)113-125
Number of pages13
JournalChromosoma
Volume118
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Genetics
  • Genetics(clinical)

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