A novel pseudoautosomal human gene encodes a putative protein similar to Ac-like transposases.
We report the cloning of a novel gene, called Tramp, in the Xp/Yp PAR region that has a functional homologue on the Y chromosome and escapes X-inactivation. This gene encodes, within a single exon, a putative protein that has amino acid similarity with transposases of the Ac family. Flanking this gene we have identified putative terminal inverted repeats (TIRs) and a duplicate target site, suggesting that it may be an ancient transposable element. The nucleotide differences in these sites and the TIR-binding inactivity of the putative Tramp protein suggest that this element is not an autonomous transposon. In the human genome, the Tramp protein may be involved in the transposition of other transposable elements, like medium reiterated frequency repeats, or it could be specialized in the acquisition of a new cellular function.
Esposito
T
T
Dipartimento di Scienze Morfologiche e Medico-Legali, Sezione di Istologia, Embriologia e Genetica, Università di Modena, Via del Pozzo 71, 41100 Modena, Italy.
Gianfrancesco
F
F
Ciccodicola
A
A
Montanini
L
L
Mumm
S
S
D'Urso
M
M
Forabosco
A
A
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D004303:Dosage Compensation, Genetic; D005260:Female; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D006822:Hybrid Cells; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D020079:Terminal Repeat Sequences; D019895:Transposases / Q000235:genetics*; D014998:Y Chromosome / Q000235:genetics
D017931:DNA Primers; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D019895:Transposases