Scientists found that DNA once dismissed as “junk” helps chromosomes find their partners

For years, the dense loops of repetitive DNA clustered near the middle of chromosomes were treated as evolutionary clutter. According to the new study published in Nature, titled 'Meiotic pairing through barcode-like satellite DNA repeats', researchers working with fruit flies have shown that this so-called satellite DNA forms a kind of barcode: a unique combination of repeats that lets each chromosome recognise its correct partner during the formation of egg cells.

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