Birth of protein-coding exons by ancient domestication of LINE-1 retrotransposon.

ABSTRACT: Transposons, occasionally domesticated as novel host protein-coding genes, are responsible for the lineage-specific functions in vertebrates. LINE-1 (L1) is one of the most active transposons in the vertebrate genomes. Despite its abundance, few examples of L1 co-option for vertebrate proteins have been reported. Here, we describe protein isoforms, in which the L1 retrotransposons are incorporated into host genes as protein-coding exons by alternative splicing. L1 ORF1 protein (ORF1p) is an RNA-binding protein that binds to L1 RNA and is required for retrotransposition by acting as an RNA chaperone. We identified a splicing variant of myosin light chain 4 (MYL4) containing an L1 ORF1-derived exon and encoding a transposon fusion protein of L1 ORF1p and MYL4, which we call "Lyosin" i

SUBMITTER: Kitao K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12129022 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature