Jef Boeke

Correction to: Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09847-6 Published online 13 November 2025 In the version of the article initially published, in Extended Data Fig. 8e, the frequencies in graph iv were DN: 7.05%, DP: 67.2%, SPCD4: 10.8%, SPCD8: 14.9% but should have been DN: 18.8%, DP: 2.56%, SPCD: 0.32%, SPCD8: 78.4%. In Extended Data Fig. 8f, in graph iii, hCD45 was 48% but should have been 0.48%. These corrections have been made to the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

Get full text access Log in, subscribe or purchase for full access. References 1. Arnold, F. Kolter, R. ∙ Maloy, S. (Editors) The Library of Maynard-Smith: My Search for Meaning in the Protein Universe 2012 2. Darwin, C. ∙ Wallace, A. On the tendency of species to form varieties; and on the perpetuation of varieties and species by natural means of selection Zoology. 1858; 3:45-62 3. Jacob, F. Evolution and tinkering Science. 1977; 196:1161-1166 4. Bacon, F. New Atlantis William Rawley, London, 1627 5.

Abstract Centromeres ensure accurate chromosome segregation, yet their DNA evolves rapidly across eukaryotes leaving the origins of new centromere architectures unclear1,2,3,4. The brewer’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae exemplifies this long-standing puzzle. Its centromeres shifted ancestrally from large, repeat-rich, epigenetically specified forms to the compact, genetically defined ‘point’ centromeres1,5. How this transition occurred has remained unresolved6.