Abstract
A substantial number of “retrogenes” that are derived from the mRNA of various intron-containing genes have been reported. A class of mammalian retroposons, long interspersed element-1 (LINE1, L1), has been shown to be involved in the reverse transcription of retrogenes (or processed pseudogenes) and non-autonomous short interspersed elements (SINEs). The 3′-end sequences of various SINEs originated from a corresponding LINE. As the 3′-untranslated regions of several LINEs are essential for retroposition, these LINEs presumably require “stringent” recognition of the 3′-end sequence of the RNA template. However, the 3′-ends of mammalian L1s do not exhibit any similarity to SINEs, except for the presence of 3′-poly(A) repeats. Since the 3′-poly(A) repeats of L1 and Alu SINE are critical for their retroposition, L1 probably recognizes the poly(A) repeats, thereby mobilizing not only Alu SINE but also cytosolic mRNA. Many flowering plants only harbor L1-clade LINEs and a significant number of SINEs with poly(A) repeats, but no homology to the LINEs. Moreover, processed pseudogenes have also been found in flowering plants. I propose that the ancestral L1-clade LINE in the common ancestor of green plants may have recognized a specific RNA template, with stringent recognition then becoming relaxed during the course of plant evolution.
Highlights
RNA-Mediated Gene Duplication and RetroposonsSince the R2 LINE protein recognizes the sequence near the 3-end of the RNA transcript for the initiation of first-strand synthesis [16, 17], the homology between the 3-ends of short interspersed elements (SINEs) and LINEs suggests that each SINE family recruits the enzymatic machinery for retroposition from the corresponding LINE through this common “tail” sequence [31]
A substantial number of “retrogenes” that are derived from the mRNA of various intron-containing genes have been reported
I propose that the ancestral L1-clade LINE in the common ancestor of green plants may have recognized a specific RNA template, with stringent recognition becoming relaxed during the course of plant evolution
Summary
Since the R2 LINE protein recognizes the sequence near the 3-end of the RNA transcript for the initiation of first-strand synthesis [16, 17], the homology between the 3-ends of SINEs and LINEs suggests that each SINE family recruits the enzymatic machinery for retroposition from the corresponding LINE through this common “tail” sequence [31]. Schmitz et al discovered a novel class of retroposons that lack poly(A) repeats in mammals Termed tailless retropseudogenes, they are derived from truncated tRNAs and tRNArelated SINE RNAs [52]. They are derived from truncated tRNAs and tRNArelated SINE RNAs [52] To explain this phenomenon, they proposed a novel variant mechanism, probably guided by the L1 RT, in which neither the presence of a poly(A) tail on the RNA template nor its length is important for retroposition
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