LTR-mediated retroposition as a mechanism of RNA-based duplication in metazoans.

ABSTRACT: In a broad range of taxa, genes can duplicate through an RNA intermediate in a process mediated by retrotransposons (retroposition). In mammals, L1 retrotransposons drive retroposition, but the elements responsible for retroposition in other animals have yet to be identified. Here, we examined young retrocopies from various animals that still retain the sequence features indicative of the underlying retroposition mechanism. In Drosophila melanogaster, we identified and de novo assembled 15 polymorphic retrocopies and found that all retroposed loci are chimeras of internal retrocopies flanked by discontinuous LTR retrotransposons. At the fusion points between the mRNAs and the LTR retrotransposons, we identified shared short similar sequences that suggest the involvement of microsimilarity-

SUBMITTER: Tan S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5131818 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature