Rte-1, a retrotransposon-like element in Caenorhabditis elegans

We have characterized a retrotransposon-like element (Rte-1) in C. elegans. It was identified while we were sequencing the pim related kinase-1 ( prk-1) gene. The element is 3,298 bp long and flanked by a 200 bp direct repeat. 95 bp of the direct repeat are present in the coding region of prk-1. Rte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:FEBS letters 1996-02, Vol.380 (1), p.1-7
Main Authors: Youngman, Sandra, van Luenen, Henri G.A.M., Plasterk, Ronald H.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino Acid Sequence
Animals
Base Sequence
Caenorhabditis - genetics
Caenorhabditis elegans
Caenorhabditis elegans - genetics
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
DNA, Helminth - analysis
Genes, Helminth - genetics
Helminth Proteins - chemistry
Helminth Proteins - genetics
Molecular Sequence Data
Non-LTR element
Open Reading Frames - genetics
Phosphotransferases - genetics
pim-related kinase
Retroelements - genetics
Retrotransposon
Reverse transcriptase
RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase - chemistry
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
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Summary:We have characterized a retrotransposon-like element (Rte-1) in C. elegans. It was identified while we were sequencing the pim related kinase-1 ( prk-1) gene. The element is 3,298 bp long and flanked by a 200 bp direct repeat. 95 bp of the direct repeat are present in the coding region of prk-1. Rte-1 contains an open reading frame, in the opposite orientation of prk-1, potentially encoding 625 amino acids, with similarity to reverse transcriptases. The element is most similar to members of the non-LTR group of retrotransposable elements. There is weak homology of the predicted amino acid sequence of Rte-1 to several reverse transcriptase-like genes identified by the C. elegans genome sequencing consortium, suggesting that there may be a large family of these elements. Southern blots indicate that there are approximately 10–15 additional Rte-1 elements in the C. elegans Bristol N2 genome and a similar number is found in the genomes of two other geographically distinct strains. The insertion pattern of Rte-1 is polymorphic between these strains.
ISSN:0014-5793
1873-3468
DOI:10.1016/0014-5793(95)01525-6