Role of DNA methylation and non-coding RNA in human centromere function

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A chromosome is a grouping of coiled strands of DNA, containing many genes. Every human cell has 23 pairs of chromosomes, which together comprise the genome. Both gain and loss of any of these chromosomes will lead to severe medical problems including birth defects and cancer development. Thus, the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the exact passage of these chromosomes from a parental cell to two new cells during cell division, and how the information is copied from from one cell generation to another, is an important area of research, however, much remains to be learnt about the mechanisms. Our laboratory was the first to discover a key component of the chromosome that is involved in the regulation of the cell division process, ensuring the accurate segregation of chromosomes. This structure, known as a neocentromere, is an ideal model system to study important aspects of chromosome segregation. The present project proposes to study the properties of this neocentromere in detail. The outcome will contribute to our knowledge on the processes underlying cell and chromosome division, which will ultimately have a direct impact on our understanding of the causes for some of the most common clinical conditions that affect human health.