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How plants with hundreds of centromeres crossover

Beaksedges harbour multiple centromeres in each chromosome, yet crossover distribution is distally biased, like in monocentric species, but with no correlation with (epi)genomic features. This study suggests that synapsis dynamics starting from chromosomal ends is key to the recombination pattern.

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Fig. 1: Distally biased crossover distribution in the holocentric plant R. breviuscula.

References

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This is a summary of: Castellani, M. et al. Meiotic recombination dynamics in plants with repeat-based holocentromeres shed light on the primary drivers of crossover patterning. Nat. Plants https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01625-y (2024).

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How plants with hundreds of centromeres crossover. Nat. Plants 10, 354–355 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01646-7

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