Neocentromere Generation in Various Experimental Systems
(A) Isolation of surviving cells after removal of the endogenous centromere on a chromosome by homologous recombination between two LoxP loci flanking the centromere. Surviving cells usually have segregation of the chromosome directed by a neocentromere.
(B) Ectopic CENP-A is assembled into a “CENP-A cloud” flanking the endogenous centromere in chicken cells. A CENP-A-rich region might be created by specific 3D packaging of the genome in Candida nuclei. The ectopic CENP-A functions as a site of preferential neocentromere formation in chicken or Candida cells when the endogenous centromere is disrupted. In contrast, neocentromeres are preferentially formed on telomeres in S. pombe.