Super nice to see this out! Congrats Hashim!

Thank you, that's very nice to hear! 😁

Thank you Max! 😁

This rewarding project came to fruition with the help of my amazing colleagues @gsherloc.bsky.social, @gautamdey.bsky.social, and @kausthubh.bsky.social, and with the support of @embl.org, Stanford University, and the Life Science Alliance. (8/8)

Our study challenges the traditional view of centromere drive as the sole driver of centromere evolution. We propose a multi-faceted model involving drift and selection during both mitosis and meiosis, shaped by constraints imposed by the kinetochore interface. (7/8)

Centromere transitions aren't random!

Our findings suggest that the kinetochore interface dictates which centromere changes are tolerated. Coevolution between the kinetochore and centromere sequences likely drives these constrained transitions. (6/8)

Centromere variants can also spread through populations via sexual reproduction. In budding yeasts, microhomology-mediated mutations seem to be the key driver in the emergence of these novel centromere variants. (5/8)

Centromere transitions turn out to be a gradual, step-by-step process. Through simulations and in vivo centromere function experiments, we show that selection plays a crucial role in driving these changes! (4/8)

We developed a new tool, PCAn 🔍, to systematically map point centromeres across budding yeasts, revealing remarkable centromere variation! (3/8)

Unlike genes, species with monocentric chromosomes possess multiple centromeres, one on each chromosome. This makes centromere evolution conceptually quite different from gene evolution.

Our work aimed to shed light on the fundamental evolutionary principles underlying centromere transitions. (2/8)