kinetochore

[ ki-nee-tuh-kawr, -kohr, -net-uh-, kahy- ]

noun

1. Biology. the place on either side of the centromere to which the spindle fibers are attached during cell division.

Word History and Origins

Origin of kinetochore¹

1930–35; kineto- + -chore < Greek chṓros place

Example Sentences

Centromeres, the pinched portions which give most chromosomes their characteristic X shape, are the assembly points for kinetochores, the cellular machinery that divvies up DNA during cell division.

From Science News

Those dips are where kinetochores grab the DNA, the researchers discovered.

From Science News