Phosphorylation at serines 216 and 221 is important for Drosophila HeT-A Gag protein stability.

ABSTRACT: Telomeres from Drosophila appear to be very different from those of other organisms - in size and the mechanism of their maintenance. In the absence of the enzyme telomerase, Drosophila telomeres are maintained by retrotransposition of three elements, HeT-A, TART, and TAHRE, but details of their transposition mechanisms are not known. Here we characterized some biochemical characteristics of the HeT-A Gag protein encoded by the HeT-A element to understand this mechanism. The HeT-A Gag protein when overexpressed in S2 cells was localized to the nucleus but was resistant to high salt, detergents and nuclease extraction treatments. Analysis of the HeT-A Gag protein by tandem mass spectrophotometry revealed that serines 216 and 221 are phosphorylated. Substituting these serines with alanine or

SUBMITTER: Brar SS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3776773 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature