centromere

[ sen-truh-meer ]

noun

, Cell Biology.

1. a specialized structure on the chromosome, appearing during cell division as the constricted central region where the two chromatids are held together and form an X shape.

centromere

/ ˌsɛntrəˈmɛrɪk; ˈsɛntrəˌmɪə; -ˈmɪərɪk /

noun

1. the dense nonstaining region of a chromosome that attaches it to the spindle during mitosis

centromere

/ sĕn′trə-mîr′ /

1. The region of the chromosome to which the spindle fiber is attached during cell division (both mitosis and meiosis). The centromere is the constricted point at which the two chromatids forming the chromosome are joined together.
2. See more at meiosis

Derived Forms

• centromeric, adjective

Other Words From

• cen·tro·mer·ic [sen-tr, uh, -, mer, -ik, -, meer, -], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of centromere¹

First recorded in 1920–25; centro- + -mere

Example Sentences

The resulting identical pairs of chromosomes, the sister chromatids, are held together by a structure called the centromere.

From Science Daily

In sequencing each centromere, they learned the duplicated regions vary greatly in size, unexpected because these knobs serve the same purpose in each chromosome.

From Science Magazine

The centromere region contains thousands of repeated segments of DNA.

From New York Times

To function correctly, yeast chromosomes need protective structures called telomeres at both ends, and only one centromere — a region that ensures the accurate segregation of chromosomes into mother and daughter cells during cell division.

From Nature

To determine whether the distribution of TE families along Ae. tauschii chromosomes was homogeneous, mean TE distances to the centromere for the 22 most abundant Gypsy and Copia families were computed.

From Nature