Many paths to the top of the mountain: diverse evolutionary solutions to centromere structure

Diverse evolutionary solutions to centromere structure are discussed in this minireview article which focuses on the emerging molecular view of the diversity and the ways in which it contributes to the view of the function of centromeres. Topics include Arabidopsis centromeres, centromeric protein conservation and variation, and reasons for the diversity. Centromeres are required for accurate transmission of chromosomes in eukaryotes.