The development of new technologies and experimental techniques is enabling researchers to see what was once unable to be seen. For example, the centromere was first seen as the mediator between spindle fiber and chromosome during mitosis and meiosis. Although this continues to be its most prominent role, we now know that the centromere functions beyond cellular division with important roles in genome organization and chromatin regulation. Here we aim to share the structures and functions of centromeres in various organisms beginning with the diversity of their DNA sequence anatomies. We zoom out to describe their position in the nucleus and ultimately detail the different ways they contribute to genome organization and regulation at the spatial level.

新技术和实验技术的发展使研究人员能够看到曾经无法看到的东西。例如，着丝粒首先被认为是有丝分裂和减数分裂过程中纺锤体纤维和染色体之间的介体。尽管这仍然是其最突出的作用，但我们现在知道着丝粒的功能超出了细胞分裂，在基因组组织和染色质调节中起着重要作用。在这里，我们旨在从DNA序列解剖结构的多样性开始，分享各种生物中着丝粒的结构和功能。我们缩小以描述它们在核中的位置，并最终详细说明它们在空间水平上对基因组组织和调控做出贡献的不同方式。