The origin and evolution of a two-component system of paralogous genes encoding the centromeric histone CENH3 in cereals.

The CENH3 duplication in cereals was accompanied by changes in the exon-intron structure of the βCENH3 paralog. The observed general tendency towards the expansion of the CENH3 locus reveals an amazing diversity of ways in which different species implement the scenario described in this paper.