title: Genetic evidence that the non-homologous end-joining repair pathway is involved in LINE retrotransposition.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Katsumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kajikawa
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ichiyanagi
authors.forename: Noritaka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Adachi
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.forename: Shunichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: Norihiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Okada
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D045643:DNA Repair Enzymes