title: Circular retrotransposition products generated by a LINE retrotransposon.
abstract: Non-long terminal repeat (non-LTR) retrotransposons are highly abundant elements that are present in chromosomes throughout the eukaryotic domain of life. The long interspersed nuclear element (LINE-1) (L1) clade of non-LTR retrotransposons has been particularly successful in mammals, accounting for 30-40% of human genome sequence. The current model of LINE retrotransposition, target-primed reverse transcription, culminates in a chromosomally integrated end product. Using a budding yeast model of non-LTR retrotransposition, we show that in addition to producing these 'classical', chromosomally integrated products, a fungal L1 clade member (Zorro3) can generate abundant, RNA-derived episomal products. Genetic evidence suggests that these products are likely to be formed via a variation of target-primed reverse transcription. These episomal products are a previously unseen alternative fate of LINE retrotransposition, and may represent an unexpected source for de novo retrotransposition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. han@ciwemb.edu
authors.forename: Jeffrey S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Shirley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shao
mesh_terms: D002176:Candida albicans / Q000235:genetics; D004270:DNA, Circular / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D020084:Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements; D009154:Mutation; D004718:Saccharomycetales / Q000235:genetics; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D004270:DNA, Circular; D004271:DNA, Fungal