The heart of chromosomes It is not impenetrable How to think: a sort of barcode allows read the central regionscalls centromers. of these structures foundations that enclose genetic information. The result, published in the magazine Science, is announced important to fight genetic diseases And tumors. The research is coordinated by the Sapienza University of Rome with the group of Simona Giunta, of the Department of Biology and Biotechnology Charles Darwin. The study is part of the project supported by the AIRC Foundation for Cancer Research and the European Research Council, aimed at investigating the role of the centromers in tumors and genetic diseases.
There central part of the chromosomes performs a fundamental role in the process of division from the cellbut So far it was considered a mysterious agglomeration of DNA. Only now it was possible light the long sequences of genetic information enclosed inside them e find the link with the appearance of some diseases. “Using new technologies of sequencing And algorithms computationals we managed not only to read these sequences for the first time, but we have discovery That every chromosome owns a own scheme unique, like a sort of bar codewho also shows himself coherent also by observing him in different people, “says Giunta, professor at Sapienza and director of the junta Lab.
The researchers also discovered that the DNA sequence that was believed to be confined to the central region of the chromosome (called centromeric motif) is found even along the arms of the chromosomes according to one Precise schemethat the researchers called ‘centennia‘And that allows you to generate specific bar codes for each chromosome.
This means having a new tool powerful for study the genome high resolution. “Just as you can scan a barcode to get information on a product, in the future It will be possible scan the codes of the centromers For know its evolution And understand its behavior in pathologies Specifications “, observes Luca Corda, the first author of the article and PhD student in genetics and molecular biology for Sapienza.
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