Drosophila telomeres: the non-telomerase alternative.
In most eukaryotes, telomeres are composed of simple repetitive sequences renewable by telomerase. By contrast, Drosophila telomeres comprise arrays of non-LTR retrotransposons HeT-A, TART, and TAHRE belonging to three different families. However, closer inspection reveals that the two quite different telomere systems share quite a few components and regulatory circuits. Here we present the current knowledge on Drosophila telomeres and discuss the possible mechanisms of telomere length control.
Melnikova
Larisa
L
Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 34/5 Vavilov St., Moscow 119334, Russia.
Georgiev
Pavel
P
D000818:Animals; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D008957:Models, Genetic; D018626:Retroelements / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D019098:Telomerase / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D016615:Telomere / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*
D002843:Chromatin; D018626:Retroelements; D019098:Telomerase