The 3' non-coding region of the Drosophila melanogaster HeT-A telomeric retrotransposon contains sequences with propensity to form G-quadruplex DNA.
HeT-A elements are non-long terminal repeat retrotransposons added onto the Drosophila chromosome ends. We have investigated the formation in vitro of higher order structures by oligonucleotides derived from the 3' non-coding region of HeT-A elements and found that they are capable of forming G-quadruplex DNA. These results suggest that the 3' repeat region of HeT-A may structurally behave as the telomeric repeats common to a majority of eukaryotes. The presence of structural motifs shared by telomeres and centromeres and the implications of these findings for chromosome evolution are discussed.
Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoá (CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain.
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D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D054856:G-Quadruplexes; D006150:Guanine Nucleotides / Q000737:chemistry*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D018626:Retroelements / Q000235:genetics*; D013463:Sulfuric Acid Esters; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics*
D006150:Guanine Nucleotides; D018626:Retroelements; D013463:Sulfuric Acid Esters; D004247:DNA; C007482:dimethyl sulfate