Award Abstract #0603927
Comparative Genomics of A Rice Centromere

NSF Org:	IOS Division of Integrative Organismal Systems
Initial Amendment Date:	June 7, 2006
Latest Amendment Date:	August 10, 2009
Award Number:	0603927
Award Instrument:	Continuing grant
Program Manager:	Diane Jofuku Okamuro IOS Division of Integrative Organismal Systems BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date:	August 1, 2006
Expires:	July 31, 2010 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:	$3000048
Investigator(s):	Jiming Jiang jjiang1@wisc.edu (Principal Investigator) Rod Wing (Co-Principal Investigator) Scott Jackson (Co-Principal Investigator) Hye Ran Kim (Co-Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:	University of Wisconsin-Madison 21 North Park Street MADISON, WI 53715 608/262-3822
NSF Program(s):	PLANT GENOME RESEARCH PROJECT
Field Application(s):
Program Reference Code(s):	BIOT, 9109
Program Element Code(s):	1329

ABSTRACT

The centromere is a cytologically (visually) defined entity with highly conserved functions. It is responsible for chromosomal sister chromatid cohesion and is the site for the assembly of kinetochore, a protein structure which links chromosomes to spindle fibers during cell division. In most multicellular eukaryotes, the centromeres are embedded within heterochromatin, a tightly packed form of DNA, and are associated with long tracts of satellite repeats in which genes are largely absent. Thus, the centromere is traditionally viewed as a highly heterochromatic and genetically silent chromosomal domain.

Recent research work from the centromere of rice chromosome 8 (Cen8) as well as the neocentromeres (newly forming centromeric regions) from humans suggest that centromeres originated from genic regions. This project will focus on centromere evolution using rice Cen8 as a model. Specifically, this project will develop bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-based physical maps that span Cen8 in six diploid wild rice species and produce approximately one megabase of DNA sequence from each of the six centromeres. The functional boundary of the six centromeres will be determined using cytogenetic and molecular methods. The structural rearrangements and sequence divergence associated with the six centromeres will be revealed by comparative sequence analysis. Expression and evolution of Cen8-associated genes will be explored to understand how such genes adapt to a unique chromosomal domain. The results from this project will shed light on centromere evolution and will also build a foundation to study the evolution of genes located in heterochromatic and recombinationally-suppressed chromosomal domains.

Access to Project Outcomes

Sequence data and gene annotation results will be made available to the public through GenBank, the project website (accessible through http://www.omap.org/) and community databases such as Gramene (http://www.gramene.org).

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

Yan, H.H., Talbert, P.B., Lee, H.-R., Jett, J., Henikoff, H., Chen, F., and Jiang, J.. "Intergenic locations of rice centromeric chromatin," PLoS Biology, v.6, 2008, p. 2563.

Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.