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TAHRE, a novel telomeric retrotransposon from Drosophila melanogaster, reveals the origin of Drosophila telomeres

Molecular Biology and Evolution, ISSN: 0737-4038, Vol: 21, Issue: 9, Page: 1620-1624
2004
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Article Description

Drosophila telomeres do not have typical telomerase repeats. Instead, two families of non-LTR retrotransposons, HeT-A and TART, maintain telomere length by occasional transposition to the chromosome ends. Despite the work on Drosophila telomeres, its evolutionary origin remains controversial. Herein we describe a novel telomere-specific retroelement that we name TAHRE (Telomere-Associated and HeT-A-Related Element). The structure of the three telomere-specific elements indicates a common ancestor. These results suggest that preexisting transposable elements were recruited to perform the cellular function of telomere maintenance. A recruitment similar to that of a retrotransposal reverse transcriptase has been suggested as the common origin of telomerases.

Bibliographic Details

Abad, José P.; de Pablos, Beatriz; Osoegawa, Kazutoyo; de Jong, Pieter J.; Martín-Gallardo, Antonia; Villasante, Alfredo

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Agricultural and Biological Sciences; Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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