The present invention provides for the identification and cloning of functional
plant centromeres in Arabidopsis. This will permit construction of stably inherited
plant artificial chromosomes (PLACs) which can serve as vectors for the construction
of transgenic plant and animal cells. In addition, information on the structure
and function of these regions will prove valuable in isolating additional centromeric
and centromere related genetic elements and polypeptides from other species.
