Origin and Evolution of Telomeres

Linear chromosomes represent an evolutionary innovation associated with the origin of eukaryotic cells. This book describes how linear chromosomes and primordial pathways for maintaining their terminal structures, telomeres, emerged in early eukaryotes.

Telomeres, derived from the Greek meaning terminal part, were first described by Hermann Muller in 1938. Telomeres are specialized structures that comprise the ends of linear chromosomes in eukaryotes. Linearity is crucial for chromosome pair...