Centromeres, the chromosomal loci where spindle fibers attach during cell division to segregate chromosomes, are typically found within satellite arrays in plants and animals. Satellite arrays have been difficult to analyze because they comprise megabases of tandem head-to-tail highly repeated DNA sequences. Much evidence suggests that centromeres are epigenetically defined by the location of nucleosomes containing the centromere-specific histone H3 variant cenH3, independently of the DNA sequences where they are located; however, the reason that cenH3 nucleosomes are generally found on rapidly evolving satellite arrays has remained unclear. Recently, long-read sequencing technology has clarified the structures of satellite arrays and sparked rethinking of how they evolve, and new experiments and analyses have helped bring both understanding and further speculation about the role these highly repeated sequences play in centromere identification.

中文翻译：

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卫星着丝粒的遗传学和表观遗传学

着丝粒是细胞分裂过程中纺锤体纤维附着以分离染色体的染色体基因座，通常存在于植物和动物的卫星阵列中。卫星阵列一直难以分析，因为它们包含数兆碱基串联的头对尾高度重复的 DNA 序列。许多证据表明，着丝粒在表观遗传学上是由含有着丝粒特异性组蛋白 H3 变体 cenH3 的核小体的位置定义的，与它们所在的 DNA 序列无关。然而，在快速发展的卫星阵列上普遍发现 cenH3 核小体的原因仍不清楚。最近，长读长测序技术已经阐明了卫星阵列的结构，并引发了对它们如何进化的重新思考，