LINEs between Species: Evolutionary Dynamics of LINE-1 Retrotransposons across the Eukaryotic Tree of Life.

ABSTRACT: LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposons are dynamic elements. They have the potential to cause great genomic change because of their ability to 'jump' around the genome and amplify themselves, resulting in the duplication and rearrangement of regulatory DNA. Active L1, in particular, are often thought of as tightly constrained, homologous and ubiquitous elements with well-characterized domain organization. For the past 30 years, model organisms have been used to define L1s as 6-8 kb sequences containing a 5'-UTR, two open reading frames working harmoniously in cis, and a 3'-UTR with a polyA tail. In this study, we demonstrate the remarkable and overlooked diversity of L1s via a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of elements from over 500 species from widely divergent branches of the tree of life. Th

SUBMITTER: Ivancevic AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5203782 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature