Library / English Dictionary

CENTROMERE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A specialized condensed region of each chromosome that appears during mitosis where the chromatids are held together to form an X shape

Example:

the centromere is difficult to sequence

Synonyms:

centromere; kinetochore

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("centromere" is a kind of...):

anatomical structure; bodily structure; body structure; complex body part; structure (a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing and its construction and arrangement)

Holonyms ("centromere" is a part of...):

chromosome (a threadlike strand of DNA in the cell nucleus that carries the genes in a linear order)

Derivation:

centromeric (pertaining to the dense specialized portion of a chromosome to which the spindle attaches during mitosis)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Centromere protein F (3210 aa, ~368 kDa) is encoded by the human CENPF gene.

(Centromere Protein F, NCI Thesaurus)

At anaphase of meiosis II or mitosis when the centromeres divide and the sister chromatids separate each chromatid becomes a chromosome.

(Chromatid, NCI Thesaurus)

The chromosome characteristics of an individual or a cell line are usually presented as a systematized array of metaphase chromosomes from a photomicrograph of a single cell nucleus arranged in pairs in descending order of size and according to the position of the centromere.

(Karyotyping, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Aurora B kinase inhibitor TAK-901 binds to and inhibits the activity of Aurora B, which may result in a decrease in the proliferation of tumor cells that overexpress Aurora B. Aurora B is a positive regulator of mitosis that functions in the attachment of the mitotic spindle to the centromere; the segregation of sister chromatids to each daughter cell; and the separation of daughter cells during cytokinesis.

(Aurora B Serine/Threonine Kinase Inhibitor TAK-901, NCI Thesaurus)

The nonstaining primary constriction of a chromosome which is the point of attachment of the spindle fiber; provides the mechanism of chromosome movement during cell division; the centromere divides the chromosome into two arms, and its position is constant for a specific chromosome: near one end (acrocentric), near the center (metacentric), or between (submetacentric).

(Centromere, NCI Thesaurus)