Cloning and characterization of the endogenous retroviral-tRNA(Glu) multigene family from human genomes of different racial backgrounds.
An 8.3-kb human endogenous retroviral-tRNA(Glu) (HERV-E)-encoding cDNA clone and a 1.5-kb genomic clone were isolated from a Chinese-derived cervical cancer cell line, CC7T, and their sequences determined. The former is a full-length endogenous retroviral cDNA containing corresponding u5-gag-pol-env-u3-r regions. The latter is a partial retroviral DNA segment, covering the gag and pol genes. Analysis of normal human DNA by Southern blot hybridization with three specific HERV-E molecular DNA probes revealed complex restriction-fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP), implying that the human genome contains diverse proviral structures and dispersed integration sites. The complex patterns were virtually identical between DNAs from African-Americans, Asians and Caucasians, with only a few minor variations. The data suggest that these proviral sequences were mostly incorporated into the human genome before racial divergence and, hence, may serve as markers for distinct chromosomal sites.
Yeh
K W
KW
Division of Cancer Research, Institute of Biomedical Sciences (IBMS), Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yang
W K
WK
Huang
H C
HC
Feng
Y N
YN
Liu
J C
JC
Wu
F Y
FY
Wu
C W
CW
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016678:Genome; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012352:RNA, Transfer, Glu / Q000235:genetics*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000235:genetics*; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000235:genetics*
D012352:RNA, Transfer, Glu; D012367:RNA, Viral