MysTR: an endogenous retrovirus family in mammals that is undergoing recent amplifications to unprecedented copy numbers.

ABSTRACT: A large percentage of the repetitive elements in mammalian genomes are retroelements, which have been moved primarily by LINE-1 retrotransposons and endogenous retroviruses. Although LINE-1 elements have remained active throughout the mammalian radiation, specific groups of endogenous retroviruses generally remain active for comparatively shorter periods of time. Identification of an unusual extinction of LINE-1 activity in a group of South American rodents has opened a window for examination of the interplay in mammalian genomes between these ubiquitous retroelements. In the course of a search for any type of repetitive sequences whose copy numbers have substantially changed in Oryzomys palustris, a species that has lost LINE-1 activity, versus Sigmodon hispidus, a closely related species

SUBMITTER: Cantrell MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1287555 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature