title: Tas, a retrotransposon from the parasitic nematode Ascaris lumbricoides.
abstract: The cloned retrotransposon Tas OE3 from the genome of the parasitic nematode Ascaris lumbricoides was completely sequenced. The element is flanked by long terminal repeats (LTR) and contains three distinct regions encoding putative proteins typical for retroid elements. The first region, ORF1, encodes a putative Gag protein including a 'Leu zipper', a nucleic acid binding motif, as well as an aspartic protease domain. The second region contains an incomplete ORF (ORF2) with sequence similarities to known retroviral reverse transcriptases (RT), ribonucleases H and integrases. A third ORF, which is located adjacent to the 3' LTR, might encode an env-like protein. Based on amino-acid sequence analysis of the RT domain, Tas falls into a new subgroup of LTR-containing retrotransposons.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Felder
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Herzceg
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: de Chastonay
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aeby
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tobler
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017164:Ascaris lumbricoides / Q000235:genetics*; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D017931:DNA Primers; D015686:Gene Products, env / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D015683:Gene Products, gag / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D019426:Integrases; D016350:Leucine Zippers; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D018626:Retroelements; D016914:Ribonuclease H / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D015686:Gene Products, env; D015683:Gene Products, gag; D018626:Retroelements; D014764:Viral Proteins; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases; D019426:Integrases; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase; D016914:Ribonuclease H; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases