Centromeres and Telomeres

Question 1

What is a centromere?

Answer 1

region of chromosome to which spindle fibers attach during cell division

Question 2

What are centromeres made of?

Answer 2

heterochromatin and repetitive DNA sequences

Question 3

What is a kinetochore?

Answer 3

multiprotein complex that acts as an anchor for attachments sites for spindle fibers

Question 4

What does the centromere position define?

Answer 4

ratio between the short (p) and long (q) arms of the chromosome

Question 5

What are telomeres?

Answer 5

ends of linear chromosomes

Question 6

What base are telomeres rich in?

Answer 6

guanine

Question 7

What is the common base repeat found in telomeres?

Answer 7

TTAGGG

Question 8

What is the purpose of the single strand portion of telomeres?

Answer 8

300 base pair length sequence found at the end of the chromosome that will loop to form a knot to stabilize the end of the chromosome

Question 9

What is the purpose of telomere cap proteins?

Answer 9

distinguish telomeres from double strands breaks and prevent activation of repair pathways

Question 10

What are the two functions of telomeres?

Answer 10

prevent chromosome deterioration
prevent fusion with neighboring chromosomes