Characterizing the Interplay between Maize Retrotransposons and the Epigenome

In general, centromeres of higher eukaryotes are composed of large arrays of tandem repeats. In contrast, domestication of maize (Zea mays) has previously been found to be associated with frequent neocentromere formation and their invasion by centromere-targeting CR retrotransposons (PNAS 113(8):E987-96). This natural process provides an opportunity to study the changes in epigenetic markers as pericentric heterochromatin is converted to centromeric heterochromatin. Using the unique genetics of maize centromeres, we characterized the interaction between H2A.Z, which is usually associated with active genes, and cenH3, which is the key epigenetic marker required for kinetochore.