Plant artificial chromosome compositions and methods

The present invention provides for the identification and cloning of functional plant centromeres in Arabidopsis. This will permit construction of stably inherited plant artificial chromosomes (PLACs) which can serve as vectors for the construction of transgenic plant and animal cells. In addition, information on the structure and function of these regions will prove valuable in isolating additional centromeric and centromere related genetic elements and polypeptides from other species.