Molecular Biology of the Cell 6th Edition

Published by Garland Science
ISBN 10: 0815344325
ISBN 13: 978-0-81534-432-2

Chapter 4 - End-of-Chapter - Problems - Page 235: 4-12

Answer

See the explanation.

Work Step by Step

Hypothetically, a dicentric chromosome will appear to be beneficial; however, in reality, one centromere can interfere with the function of the other. Microtubules attach to the centromere and will pull the sister chromatids on opposite poles of the cell. When 2 centromeres are present, there is a fair chance that microtubules from one pole bind to the first centromere and microtubules from the other end will bind to the second centromere. If this ends up happening, the pulling of the chromatids will result in a chromosome breakage.
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