Earnshaw, W. C.Allshire, R. C.Black, B. E.Bloom, K.Brinkley, B. R.Brown, W.Cheeseman, I. M.Choo, K. H. A.Copenhaver, G. P.DeLuca, J. G.Desai, A.Diekmann, S.Erhardt, S.Fitzgerald-Hayes, M.Foltz, D.Fukagawa, T.Gassmann, R.Gerlich, D. W.Glover, D. M.Gorbsky, G. J.Harrison, StephenHeun, P.Hirota, T.Jansen, L. E. T.Karpen, G.Kops, G. J. P. L.Lampson, M. A.Lens, S. M.Losada, A.Luger, K.Maiato, H.Maddox, P. S.Margolis, R. L.Masumoto, H.McAinsh, A. D.Mellone, B. G.Meraldi, P.Musacchio, A.Oegema, K.O’Neill, R. J.Salmon, E. D.Scott, K. C.Straight, A. F.Stukenberg, P. T.Sullivan, B. A.Sullivan, K. F.Sunkel, C. E.Swedlow, J. R.Walczak, C. E.Warburton, P. E.Westermann, S.Willard, H. F.Wordeman, L.Yanagida, M.Yen, T. J.Yoda, K.Cleveland, D. W.2013-10-162013Earnshaw, W. C., R. C. Allshire, B. E. Black, K. Bloom, B. R. Brinkley, W. Brown, I. M. Cheeseman, et al. 2013. Esperanto for histones: cenp-a, not cenh3, is the centromeric histone h3 variant. Chromosome Research 21(2): 101-106.0967-3849http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:11179848The first centromeric protein identified in any species was CENP-A, a divergent member of the histone H3 family that was recognised by autoantibodies from patients with scleroderma-spectrum disease. It has recently been suggested to rename this protein CenH3. Here, we argue that the original name should be maintained both because it is the basis of a long established nomenclature for centromere proteins and because it avoids confusion due to the presence of canonical histone H3 at centromeres.en-UScentromereCENP-AhistonekinetochoreCenH3Journal Article2013-10-1610.1007/s10577-013-9347-y