Evolution and distribution of RNA polymerase II regulatory sites from RNA polymerase III dependant mobile Alu elements.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The primate-specific Alu elements, which originated 65 million years ago, exist in over a million copies in the human genome. These elements have been involved in genome shuffling and various diseases not only through retrotransposition but also through large scale Alu-Alu mediated recombination. Only a few subfamilies of Alus are currently retropositionally active and show insertion/deletion polymorphisms with associated phenotypes. Retroposition occurs by means of RNA intermediates synthesised by a RNA polymerase III promoter residing in the A-Box and B-Box in these elements. Alus have also been shown to harbour a number of transcription factor binding sites, as well as hormone responsive elements. The distribution of Alus has been shown to be non-random in the human g

SUBMITTER: Shankar R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC524483 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature