Envelope-class retrovirus-like elements are widespread, transcribed and spliced, and insertionally polymorphic in plants.

ABSTRACT: Retrotransposons and retroviruses share similar intracellular life cycles and major encoded proteins, but retrotransposons lack the envelope (env) critical for infectivity. Retrotransposons are ubiquitous and abundant in plants and active retroviruses are known in animals. Although a few env-containing retroelements, gypsy-like Athila, Cyclops, and Calypso and copia-like SIRE-1, have been identified in plants, the general presence and functionality of the domain remains unclear. We show here that env-class elements are present throughout the flowering plants and are widely transcribed. Within the grasses, we show the transcription of the env domain itself for Bagy-2 and related retrotransposons, all members of the Athila group. Furthermore, Bagy-2 transcripts undergo splicing to generate a

SUBMITTER: Vicient CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC311225 | biostudies-literature | 2001 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature