title: A copia-like retrotransposon gene encoding gypsy-like integrase in a red alga, Porphyra yezoensis.
abstract: A genomic PCR fragment of 4581 bp, referred to as PyRE10G, was isolated from the red alga Porphyra yezoensis. PyRE10G contained a putative open reading frame encoding gag, protease, integrase, reverse transcriptase (RT), and RNase H, but one stop codon was present in the integrase region. Southern blot analysis revealed that PyRE10G exists as a single copy in the genome. From the order of gene arrangement of polyproteins, PyRE10G appears to be a copia-like retrotransposon. Amino acid sequences of PyRE10G RT and RNase H were closely related to those of copia-like retrotransposons. In contrast, the phylogenetic tree suggested that PyRE10G integrase stands within the gypsy elements and outside the copia group. PyRE10G is the first example of a chimeric composition of copia- and gypsy-like polyprotein genes in a single element, supporting the hypothesis that long terminal repeat-containing retrotransposons have evolved by fusion of ancestral RT/RNase H and other polyprotein genes.
authors: Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, Kurokami, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors: Suresh
authors: S
authors: Peddigari
authors: Wenbo
authors: W
authors: Zhang
authors: Mika
authors: M
authors: Sakai
authors: Katsuaki
authors: K
authors: Takechi
authors: Hiroyoshi
authors: H
authors: Takano
authors: Susumu
authors: S
authors: Takio
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D018628:Gene Dosage; D019426:Integrases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D044664:Porphyra / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D018626:Retroelements; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D020079:Terminal Repeat Sequences
chemical_list: D018626:Retroelements; D019426:Integrases