ArticleNature structural & molecular biology2026
Heterochromatin boundaries maintain centromere position, size and number.
Article in Nature structural & molecular biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- A practical guide to studying genome function using single-molecule genomics.Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology · 2026Review
- The CENP-A chaperone complex spatially organizes centromeres.Science advances · 2026Article
- Genetic mechanisms of mitotic error in 840,853 blood genomes.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Haplotype-resolved DiMeLo-seq maps centromeric chromatin in a complete diploid human genome.Cell genomics · 2026Article
- Neocentromeres fail to maintain DNA methylation boundaries, driving CENP-A drift, instability, and chromosome missegregation.Cell reports · 2026Article
- HOROSCOPE: Decoding human centromere architecture from short reads usingbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- A genomic and epigenomic view of human centromeres.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2026Review
- Haplotype-resolved centromeric chromatin organization from a complete diploid human genome.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Fully T2T pedigree assemblies reveal genetic stability and epigenetic plasticity of human centromeres across inheritance and cell-fate transitions.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The CENP-A chaperone complex spatially organizes centromeres.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Preserving centromere identity: right amounts of CENP-A at the right place and time.Chromosome research : an international journal on the molecular, supramolecular and evolutionary aspects of chromosome biology · 2025Review
- A brief historical perspective on cell cycle control of CENP-A assembly and inheritance.Chromosome research : an international journal on the molecular, supramolecular and evolutionary aspects of chromosome biology · 2025Review
- DiMeLo-cito: a one-tube protocol for mapping protein-DNA interactions reveals CTCF bookmarking in mitosis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Centromeres are defined by a unique single chromatin domain featuring the histone H3 variant, centromere protein A (CENP-A), and ensure proper chromosome segregation. Centromeric chromatin typically occupies a small subregion of low DNA methylation within multimegabase arrays of hypermethylated alpha-satellite repeats and constitutive pericentric heterochromatin. Here, we define the molecular basis of how heterochromatin serves as a primary driver of centromere and neocentromere position, size and number. Using single-molecule epigenomics, we uncover roles for H3K9me3 methyltransferases SUV39H1/H2 and SETDB1, in addition to noncanonical roles for SUZ12, in maintaining H3K9me3 boundaries at centromeres. Loss of these heterochromatin boundaries leads to the progressive expansion and/or repositioning of the primary CENP-A domain, erosion of surrounding DNA methylation and nucleation of additional functional CENP-A domains across the same alpha-satellite sequences. Our study identifies the functional importance and specialization of different H3K9 methyltransferases across centromeric and pericentric domains, crucial for maintaining centromere domain size and suppressing ectopic centromere nucleation events.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.