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PMID: 2447482 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

The site-specific ribosomal DNA insertion element R1Bm belongs to a class of non-long-terminal-repeat retrotransposons.

Molecular and cellular biology ·Vol. 8 ·No. 1 ·1988-01-00 ·Pages 114-23

Xiong Y, Eickbush TH

Abstract

Two types of insertion elements, R1 and R2 (previously called type I and type II), are known to interrupt the 28S ribosomal genes of several insect species. In the silkmoth, Bombyx mori, each element occupies approximately 10% of the estimated 240 ribosomal DNA units, while at most only a few copies are located outside the ribosomal DNA units. We present here the complete nucleotide sequence of an R1 insertion from B. mori (R1Bm). This 5.1-kilobase element contains two overlapping open reading frames (ORFs) which together occupy 88% of its length. ORF1 is 461 amino acids in length and exhibits characteristics of retroviral gag genes. ORF2 is 1,051 amino acids in length and contains homology to reverse transcriptase-like enzymes. The analysis of 3' and 5' ends of independent isolates from the ribosomal locus supports the suggestion that R1 is still functioning as a transposable element. The precise location of the element within the genome implies that its transposition must occur with remarkable insertion sequence specificity. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences from six retrotransposons, R1 and R2 of B. mori, I factor and F element of Drosophila melanogaster, L1 of Mus domesticus, and Ingi of Trypanosoma brucei, reveals a relatively high level of sequence homology in the reverse transcriptase region. Like R1, these elements lack long terminal repeats. We have therefore named this class of related elements the non-long-terminal-repeat (non-LTR) retrotransposons.

MeSH Terms
Amino Acid Sequence Animals Base Sequence Bombyx/genetics DNA Transposable Elements Gene Products, gag Molecular Sequence Data RNA, Ribosomal/genetics RNA, Ribosomal, 28S/genetics RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase/genetics Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid Retroviridae/genetics Retroviridae Proteins/genetics Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
Chemicals
DNA Transposable Elements Gene Products, gag RNA, Ribosomal RNA, Ribosomal, 28S Retroviridae Proteins RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Xiong Y
Department of Biology, River Campus, University of Rochester, New York 14627.
Eickbush T H
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Article Info
Journal
Molecular and cellular biology
Abbr.
Mol Cell Biol
ISSN
0270-7306
DOI
10.1128/mcb.8.1.114-123.1988
Published
1988-01-00
Pages
114-23
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
8109087
PMCID
PMC363089
Subset
IM
Databases
GENBANK
M19755
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1128/mcb.8.1.114-123.1988 PMC Full Text View journal details
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