Genetic evidence that the non-homologous end-joining repair pathway is involved in LINE retrotransposition.
Long interspersed elements (LINEs) are transposable elements that proliferate within eukaryotic genomes, having a large impact on eukaryotic genome evolution. LINEs mobilize via a process called retrotransposition. Although the role of the LINE-encoded protein(s) in retrotransposition has been extensively investigated, the participation of host-encoded factors in retrotransposition remains unclear. To address this issue, we examined retrotransposition frequencies of two structurally different LINEs--zebrafish ZfL2-2 and human L1--in knockout chicken DT40 cell lines deficient in genes involved in the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) repair of DNA and in human HeLa cells treated with a drug that inhibits NHEJ. Deficiencies of NHEJ proteins decreased retrotransposition frequencies of both LINEs in these cells, suggesting that NHEJ is involved in LINE retrotransposition. More precise characterization of ZfL2-2 insertions in DT40 cells permitted us to consider the possibility of dual roles for NHEJ in LINE retrotransposition, namely to ensure efficient integration of LINEs and to restrict their full-length formation.
Suzuki
Jun
J
Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.
Yamaguchi
Katsumi
K
Kajikawa
Masaki
M
Ichiyanagi
Kenji
K
Adachi
Noritaka
N
Koyama
Hideki
H
Takeda
Shunichi
S
Okada
Norihiro
N
D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D004260:DNA Repair; D045643:DNA Repair Enzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D020084:Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements; D008957:Models, Genetic; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D015027:Zebrafish
D045643:DNA Repair Enzymes