Centromeres are a conundrum; although many proteins associated with centomeres are conserved from yeast to humans, the underlying DNA sequence is not. A proposed solution to this problem is that an epigenetic, largely heterochromatic, state be imposed by these proteins. Recent analysis of a human neocentromere and the complete sequence of a rice centromere suggest that this epigenetic state can enable transcription of at least some genes within a centromere.