An acentric fragment is a segment of a

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

that lacks a

centromere The centromere links a pair of sister chromatids together during cell division. This constricted region of chromosome connects the sister chromatids, creating a short arm (p) and a long arm (q) on the chromatids. During mitosis, spindle fibers ...

. Because the centromere is the point of attachment for the mitotic apparatus, acentric fragments are not evenly distributed to the

daughter cell Cell division is the process by which a parent cell divides into two daughter cells. Cell division usually occurs as part of a larger cell cycle in which the cell grows and replicates its chromosome(s) before dividing. In eukaryotes, there ar ...

s in cell division ( mitosis and

meiosis Meiosis (; , since it is a reductional division) is a special type of cell division of germ cells in sexually-reproducing organisms that produces the gametes, such as sperm or egg cells. It involves two rounds of division that ultimately r ...

). As a result, one of the daughters will lack the acentric fragment. Lack of the acentric fragment in one of the daughter cells may have deleterious consequences, depending on the function of the DNA in this region of the chromosome. In the case of a haploid organism or a

gamete A gamete (; , ultimately ) is a haploid cell that fuses with another haploid cell during fertilization in organisms that reproduce sexually. Gametes are an organism's reproductive cells, also referred to as sex cells. In species that produce ...

, it will be fatal to one of the daughter cells if essential DNA is contained in the lost DNA segment. In the case of a diploid organism, the daughter cell lacking the acentric fragment will show expression of any recessive genes found in the homologous chromosome. Developmental geneticists look for cells and cell lineages lacking unpaired chromosome segments produced this way as a means of identifying essential genes for specific functions. Acentric fragments are commonly generated by chromosome-breaking events, such as

irradiation Irradiation is the process by which an object is exposed to radiation. The exposure can originate from various sources, including natural sources. Most frequently the term refers to ionizing radiation, and to a level of radiation that will serve ...

. Such acentric fragments are unequally distributed between the daughter cells after cell division. Acentric fragments can also be produced when an inverted segment is present in one member of a chromosome pair. In that case, a crossover event will result in one chromosome with two centromeres and an acentric fragment. The acentric fragment will be lost as explained above, and chromosomes with two centromeres will break unevenly during mitosis, resulting in one daughter lacking essential genes.Google Books Preview
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References

{{reflist Classical genetics

See also

References