Drosophila euchromatic LTR retrotransposons are much younger than the host species in which they reside.

ABSTRACT: The recent release of the complete euchromatic genome sequence of Drosophila melanogaster offers a unique opportunity to explore the evolutionary history of transposable elements (TEs) within the genome of a higher eukaryote. In this report, we describe the annotation and phylogenetic comparison of 178 full-length long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons from the sequenced component of the D. melanogaster genome. We report the characterization of 17 LTR retrotransposon families described previously and five newly discovered element families. Phylogenetically, these families can be divided into three distinct lineages that consist of members from the canonical Copia and Gypsy groups as well as a newly discovered third group containing BEL, mazi, and roo elements. Each family consists of

SUBMITTER: Bowen NJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC311128 | biostudies-literature | 2001 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature