Enrichment of Non-B-Form DNA at D. melanogaster Centromeres

Abstract

Centromeres are essential chromosomal regions that mediate the accurate inheritance of genetic information during eukaryotic cell division. Despite their conserved function, centromeres do not contain conserved DNA sequences and are instead epigenetically marked by the presence of the centromere-specific histone H3 variant centromeric protein A. The functional contribution of centromeric DNA sequences to centromere identity remains elusive. Previous work found that dyad symmetries with a propensity to adopt noncanonical secondary DNA structures are enriched at the centromeres of several species. These findings lead to the proposal that noncanonical DNA structures may contribute to centromere specification. Here, we analyze the predicted secondary structures of the recently identified centromere DNA sequences of Drosophila melanogaster. Although dyad symmetries are only enriched on the Y centromere, we find that other types of noncanonical DNA structures, including melted DNA and G-quadruplexes, are common features of all D. melanogaster centromeres. Our work is consistent with previous models suggesting that noncanonical DNA secondary structures may be conserved features of centromeres with possible implications for centromere specification.