title: Sequence of retrovirus provirus resembles that of bacterial transposable elements.
abstract: The nucleotide sequences of the terminal regions of an infectious integrated retrovirus cloned in the modified lambda phage cloning vector Charon 4A have been elucidated. There is a 569-base pair direct repeat at both ends of the viral DNA. The cell-virus junctions at each end consist of a 5-base pair direct repeat of cell DNA next to a 3-base pair inverted repeat of viral DNA. This structure resembles that of a transposable element and is consistent with the protovirus hypothesis that retroviruses evolved from the cell genome.
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D005814:Genes, Viral; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D004279:DNA, Viral; D004247:DNA