A repetitive DNA element,associated with telomeric sequences in Drosophila melanogaster,contains open reading frames |
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| Authors: | Olga N Danilevskaya Dmitri A Petrov Maria N Pavlova Akihiko Koga Elena V Kurenova Daniel L Hartl |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 63110-8232 St. Louis, MO, USA;(2) Institute of Molecular Genetics, USSR Academy of Sciences, 123182 Moscow, USSR;(3) Present address: Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 02139 Boston, MA, USA;(4) Present address: Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, The Biological Laboratories, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, 02138 Cambridge, MA, USA;(5) Present address: Department of Biology, University of Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan |
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| Abstract: | He-T sequences are a complex repetitive family of DNA sequences in Drosophila that are associated with telomeric regions, pericentromeric heterochromatin, and the Y chromosome. A component of the He-T family containing open reading frames (ORFs) is described. These ORF-containing elements within the He-T family are designated T-elements, since hybridization in situ with the polytene salivary gland chromosomes results in detectable signal exclusively at the chromosome tips. One T-element that has been sequenced includes ORFs of 1,428 and 1,614 bp. The ORFs are overlapping but one nucleotide out of frame with respect to each other. The longer ORF contains cysteine-histidine motifs strongly resembling nucleic acid binding domains of gag-like proteins, and the overall organization of the T-element ORFs is reminiscent of LINE elements. The T-elements are transcribed and appear to be conserved in Drosophila species related to D. melanogaster. The results suggest that T-elements may play a role in the structure and/or function of telomeres.by W. Hennig |
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