title: copia-like retrotransposons are ubiquitous among plants.
abstract: Transposable genetic elements are assumed to be a feature of all eukaryotic genomes. Their identification, however, has largely been haphazard, limited principally to organisms subjected to molecular or genetic scrutiny. We assessed the phylogenetic distribution of copia-like retrotransposons, a class of transposable element that proliferates by reverse transcription, using a polymerase chain reaction assay designed to detect copia-like element reverse transcriptase sequences. copia-like retrotransposons were identified in 64 plant species as well as the photosynthetic protist Volvox carteri. The plant species included representatives from 9 of 10 plant divisions, including bryophytes, lycopods, ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. DNA sequence analysis of 29 cloned PCR products and of a maize retrotransposon cDNA confirmed the identity of these sequences as copia-like reverse transcriptase sequences, thereby demonstrating that this class of retrotransposons is a ubiquitous component of plant genomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Iowa State University, Ames 50010.
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Voytas
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koniczny
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Ausubel
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Rodermel
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D010802:Phylogeny; D010944:Plants / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics*; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D004247:DNA; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase