A recombination hotspot in the LTR of a mouse retrotransposon identified in an in vitro system.
The recombinational frequency between two long terminal repeat elements (LTR-IS) of a mouse retrotransposon was about 13 times higher, compared with that of two control DNA sequences in extracts from mouse testes, but not in extracts from ascites cells. Deletion of a 37 bp region from the LTR-IS element strongly suppresses its recombinational activity. This 37 bp region encompasses an area of potentially single-stranded DNA and interacts with at least two nuclear proteins. One of them binds sequence-specifically to single-stranded DNA and is present in both types of extracts. Another protein(s) binds to dsDNA at the motif TGGAAATCCCC and is absent in extracts from testes. Our results suggest that a cis-acting DNA sequence within the 504 bp LTR-IS element is responsible for its high recombinational activity in vitro, and they further support the previous suggestion that the LTR-IS elements are meiotic recombinational hotspots in vivo.
Edelmann
W
W
Institut für Virologie und Immunbiologie, Universität Würzburg, Federal Republic of Germany.
Kröger
B
B
Goller
M
M
Horak
I
I
D000818:Animals; D001201:Ascites / Q000503:physiopathology; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000502:physiology; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D004720:Endonucleases / Q000494:pharmacology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice / Q000235:genetics*; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D010957:Plasmids; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D015719:Single-Strand Specific DNA and RNA Endonucleases; D013737:Testis / Q000502:physiology
D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D004720:Endonucleases; D015719:Single-Strand Specific DNA and RNA Endonucleases