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Scientists finally solve the mystery of yeast’s tiny centromeres

Scientists have uncovered how brewer’s yeast developed its unusually tiny centromeres, the DNA regions that guide chromosome separation during cell division. By studying related yeast species, researchers found centromeres that appear to represent evolutionary halfway points. These structures seem to have formed from retrotransposons—mobile “jumping genes” in the genome. The discovery shows how DNA once considered genomic junk can be transformed into essential chromosome machinery.

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