Preprint presents canavanine-based assay for gross chromosomal rearrangements in fission yeast

Gross chromosomal rearrangements (GCRs) — large-scale structural changes to chromosomes including deletions, translocations, and inversions — are a hallmark of genomic instability in cancer and other diseases. Understanding which genomic regions are most prone to rearrangement, and which genes modulate that susceptibility, requires tractable model systems with sensitive reporter assays.

A preprint posted to bioRxiv on 16 May 2026 describes a novel GCR assay developed in fission yeast (*Schizosaccharomyces pombe*), exploiting canavanine counter-selection to detect rearrangements within a defined chromosomal context. Fission yeast is considered a particularly relevant model organism for studying genome instability processes conserved in human biology. Using the assay, the authors report identification of natural GCR hotspots, including inverted long terminal repeats (IR-LTRs), and implicate specific modulating genes.

The work is a methodological and functional-genomics advance aimed at the research community studying genome stability, DNA repair, and cancer predisposition mechanisms. The preprint has not yet been peer-reviewed. Institutional affiliations and full authorship are not detailed in the available lede; interested readers should consult the bioRxiv record for complete information.