{"id":{"repo_id":"washington","oai_identifier":"oai:digital.lib.washington.edu:1773/27536"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/washington/oai:digital.lib.washington.edu:1773/27536","repository":{"repo_id":"washington","name":"University of Washington","base_url":"https://digital.lib.washington.edu/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Functional consequences of rapid evolution at Drosophila centromeres","abstract":"Centromeres are loci on chromosomes that are essential for faithful inheritance of genomic information at every cell division in eukaryotic organisms. Centromeric chromatin is the foundation for one of the largest macromolecular structures in the cell - the kinetochore, which facilitates tension between the chromosome and the spindle pole during the act of chromosome segregation. Despite this vital function, centromeric DNA and genes that encode essential centromeric proteins evolve rapidly in plants and animals. However, the selective forces driving the rapid evolution of centromeres and the functional consequences of such rapid change are not well understood. I aimed to gain insight into the functional consequences of centromere evolution, using Drosophila as a model system. I discovered that rapid evolution has resulted in species-specific function of the centromeric histone variant CENP-A/Cid. Furthermore, I found rapid evolution had not only affected the primary sequence of kinetochore proteins in Drosophila, but also the composition of the kinetochore itself, since the young gene Umbrea gained essential centromere function after duplication. Finally, I found that divergence at Drosophila centromeres may have broad consequences for species, since some genes involved in speciation encode rapidly evolving centromeric proteins.","abstract_html":"Centromeres are loci on chromosomes that are essential for faithful inheritance of genomic information at every cell division in eukaryotic organisms. Centromeric chromatin is the foundation for one of the largest macromolecular structures in the cell - the kinetochore, which facilitates tension between the chromosome and the spindle pole during the act of chromosome segregation. Despite this vital function, centromeric DNA and genes that encode essential centromeric proteins evolve rapidly in plants and animals. However, the selective forces driving the rapid evolution of centromeres and the functional consequences of such rapid change are not well understood. I aimed to gain insight into the functional consequences of centromere evolution, using Drosophila as a model system. I discovered that rapid evolution has resulted in species-specific function of the centromeric histone variant CENP-A/Cid. Furthermore, I found rapid evolution had not only affected the primary sequence of kinetochore proteins in Drosophila, but also the composition of the kinetochore itself, since the young gene Umbrea gained essential centromere function after duplication. Finally, I found that divergence at Drosophila centromeres may have broad consequences for species, since some genes involved in speciation encode rapidly evolving centromeric proteins.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ross, Benjamin Davidson"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Malik, Harmit S"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-02-24","date_published":"2015-02-24","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:57:59Z","subjects":["centromeres; Drosophila; evolution; hybrids; kinetochore; speciation"],"languages":["en_US"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the individual authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1773/27536","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Malik, Harmit S"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ross, Benjamin Davidson"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2015-02-24T17:37:51Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-02-24T17:37:51Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2015-02-24"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["centromeres; Drosophila; evolution; hybrids; kinetochore; speciation"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_US"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright is held by the individual authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["Ross_washington_0250E_13983.pdf"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1773/27536"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2014"]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Centromeres are loci on chromosomes that are essential for faithful inheritance of genomic information at every cell division in eukaryotic organisms. Centromeric chromatin is the foundation for one of the largest macromolecular structures in the cell - the kinetochore, which facilitates tension between the chromosome and the spindle pole during the act of chromosome segregation. Despite this vital function, centromeric DNA and genes that encode essential centromeric proteins evolve rapidly in plants and animals. However, the selective forces driving the rapid evolution of centromeres and the functional consequences of such rapid change are not well understood. I aimed to gain insight into the functional consequences of centromere evolution, using Drosophila as a model system. I discovered that rapid evolution has resulted in species-specific function of the centromeric histone variant CENP-A/Cid. Furthermore, I found rapid evolution had not only affected the primary sequence of kinetochore proteins in Drosophila, but also the composition of the kinetochore itself, since the young gene Umbrea gained essential centromere function after duplication. Finally, I found that divergence at Drosophila centromeres may have broad consequences for species, since some genes involved in speciation encode rapidly evolving centromeric proteins."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Functional consequences of rapid evolution at Drosophila centromeres"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Malik, Harmit S"],"dc:creator":["Ross, Benjamin Davidson"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2015-02-24T17:37:51Z"],"dc:date.available":["2015-02-24T17:37:51Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2015-02-24"],"dc:description":["Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2014"],"dc:description.abstract":["Centromeres are loci on chromosomes that are essential for faithful inheritance of genomic information at every cell division in eukaryotic organisms. Centromeric chromatin is the foundation for one of the largest macromolecular structures in the cell - the kinetochore, which facilitates tension between the chromosome and the spindle pole during the act of chromosome segregation. Despite this vital function, centromeric DNA and genes that encode essential centromeric proteins evolve rapidly in plants and animals. However, the selective forces driving the rapid evolution of centromeres and the functional consequences of such rapid change are not well understood. I aimed to gain insight into the functional consequences of centromere evolution, using Drosophila as a model system. I discovered that rapid evolution has resulted in species-specific function of the centromeric histone variant CENP-A/Cid. Furthermore, I found rapid evolution had not only affected the primary sequence of kinetochore proteins in Drosophila, but also the composition of the kinetochore itself, since the young gene Umbrea gained essential centromere function after duplication. Finally, I found that divergence at Drosophila centromeres may have broad consequences for species, since some genes involved in speciation encode rapidly evolving centromeric proteins."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.other":["Ross_washington_0250E_13983.pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1773/27536"],"dc:language.iso":["en_US"],"dc:rights":["Copyright is held by the individual authors."],"dc:subject":["centromeres; Drosophila; evolution; hybrids; kinetochore; speciation"],"dc:title":["Functional consequences of rapid evolution at Drosophila centromeres"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:57:59Z"}