title: Characterization of Mcmar1, a mariner-like element with large inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) from the phytoparasitic nematode Meloidogyne chitwoodi.
abstract: Two copies of a new mariner-like element (MLE) presenting unusual inverted terminal repeats (ITRs), Mcmar1-1 and Mcmar1-2, were cloned and sequenced in the genome of the phytoparasitic nematode Meloidogyne chitwoodi. Although the sequence features of these Mcmar1 transposons are commonplace and link them to the mariner family, at their extremities they have large 355-pb long inverted terminal repeats that are perfectly conserved. This characteristic distinguishes them from all the other MLEs so far described that have imperfectly conserved ITRs of about 26-30 bp. In consequence, the sequenced full-length Mcmar1-1 element is 2000 bp long, and comprises an uninterrupted open reading frame (ORF) that encodes a putatively active transposase with 340 amino acid residues. The Mcmar1-2 element is a deleted form of Mcmar1-1 that contains a deletion overlapping most of the internal region of the 5'ITR and the 5' region of the transposase ORF. The presence of large ITRs in different transposons related to the Tc1-mariner super-family is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Unité Interactions Plantes-Microorganismes et Santé Végétale, I.N.R.A., 123 Bd Francis Meilland, BP2078, 06606, Antibes Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Leroy
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Castagnone-Sereno
authors.forename: Sylvaine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Renault
authors.forename: Corinne
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Augé-Gouillou
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bigot
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Abad
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D020079:Terminal Repeat Sequences / Q000235:genetics*; D014431:Tylenchoidea / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D018509:DNA, Helminth