title: The carboxy-terminal segment of the human LINE-1 ORF2 protein is involved in RNA binding.
abstract: The human LINE-1/L1 ORF2 protein is a multifunctional enzyme which plays a vital role in the life cycle of the human L1 retrotransposon. The protein consists of an endonuclease domain, followed by a central reverse transcriptase domain and a carboxy-terminal C-domain with unknown function. Here, we explore the nucleic acid binding properties of the 180-amino acid carboxy-terminal segment (CTS) of the human L1 ORF2p in vitro. In a series of experiments involving gel shift assay, we demonstrate that the CTS of L1 ORF2p binds RNA in non-sequence-specific manner. Finally, we report that mutations destroying the putative Zn-knuckle structure of the protein do not significantly affect the level of RNA binding and discuss the possible functional role of the CTS in L1 retrotransposition.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Piskareva
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ernst
authors.forename: Niamh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.forename: Vadim
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Schmatchenko