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.
Abad
J P
JP
Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoá (CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain.
Villasante
A
A
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