Kinetochore mutations and histone phosphorylation pattern changes accompany holo- and macro-monocentromere evolution
Centromeres are essential for kinetochore assembly and spindle attachment. While chromosomes of most species are monocentric with a single centromere, a minority exhibit holocentricity, with a centromere along the chromatid length. Sporadic emergence of holocentricity suggests multiple independent transitions. To explore this, we compare the centromere and (epi)genome organization of two sister genera with contrasting centromere types: Chamaelirium luteum with large macro-monocentromeres and Chionographis japonica with holocentromeres. Both exhibit chromosome-wide histone phosphorylation patterns distinct from typical monocentric species. Kinetochore analysis reveals similar chimeric Borealin in both species, with additional KNL2 loss and NSL1 chimerism in Cha. luteum. The broad-scale synteny between both genomes supports de novo holocentromere formation in Chi. japonica. Despite sharing features with both centromere types, macro-monocentromeres do not represent a direct link between mono- and holocentromeres. We propose a model for the divergent evolution involving kinetochore gene mutations, altered histone phosphorylation patterns, and centromeric satellite DNA amplification.
Authors
- Axel Himmelbach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7338-0946)
- Veit Schubert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3072-0485)
- Pavel Neumann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6711-6639)
- Heiko Hentrich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1120-5947)
- Jörg Fuchs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4171-5371)
- Yi‐Tzu Kuo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5893-3784)
- Michael Melzer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5213-4030)
- Andreas Houben (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3419-239X)
- Katrin Kumke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3507-5630)
- Mariela Sader (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8188-2217)
- Jianyong Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6996-1032)
- Jir̆ı́ Macas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0829-1570)
- Zihao Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2296-2724)
Institutions
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE)
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (AR)
- Czech Academy of Sciences (CZ)
- Institute of Plant Molecular Biology (CZ)
- Leibniz-Institut für Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung (IPK) (DE)
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre (CZ)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-12-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67524-8
- Primary Topic
- Chromosomal and Genetic Variations
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Grantová Agentura České Republiky
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
- China Scholarship Council
- Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica