Bridging the gap: unravelling plant centromeres in the telomere-to-telomere era

Centromeres are specific regions of the chromosomes that play a pivotal role in the segregation of chromosomes, by facilitating the loading of the kinetochore, which forms the link between the chromosomes to the spindle fibres during cell division. In plants and animals, these regions often form megabase-scale loci of tandemly repeated DNA sequences, which have presented a challenge to genomic studies even in model species. The functional designation of centromeres is determined epigenetically by the incorporation of a centromere-specific variant of histone H3. Recent developments in long-read sequencing technology have allowed the assembly of these regions for the first time and have prompted a reassessment of fidelity of centromere function and the evolutionary dynamics of these regions.

Biography

Matthew Naish is a Broodbank Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge, UK, with research interests in plant genetics and epigenetics. His work focuses on understanding the regulation of centromeres - specialised chromosomal regions essential for accurate chromosome segregation during cell division.

After completing a Bachelor's in Natural Sciences at Cambridge, Matthew earned a Master's in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security from Lancaster University, UK. He completed his PhD at the University of Warwick, UK, under the supervision of Prof. José Gutierrez-Marcos, investigating the epigenetic regulation of developmental reprogramming in plant regeneration. As a postdoctoral Fellow in Prof Ian Henderson’s lab at Cambridge, Matthew applied advanced long-read sequencing technologies to study centromere structure and function, including generating the first-ever gapless genome assembly for the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

In recognition of his contributions to plant science, he was awarded the 2024 New Phytologist Tansley Medal for Excellence in Plant Science. He also served as a Scientific Fellow (2020-2022) to the World Economic Forum’s Global Futures Council on Nature-based Solutions, contributing to international dialogue on sustainability and the role of natural systems in addressing environmental challenges. In October 2025, he will join the University of Warwick as an Assistant Professor in the School of Life Sciences, where he will establish an independent research group exploring the establishment and regulation of centromeres.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8977-1295