title: The age of Alu subfamilies.
abstract: Using Kimura's distance measure we have calculated the average age of all major Alu subfamilies based on the most recent available data. We conclude that AluJ sequences are some 26 Myr older than previously thought. Furthermore, the origin of the FLA (Free Left Arm) Alu family can be traced back to the very beginning of the mammalian radiation. One new minor subfamily is reported and discussed in the context of sequence diversity in major Alu subfamilies.
authors.affiliation: Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine, Palo Alto, CA 94306, USA.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kapitonov
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jurka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017421:Sequence Analysis