Work

TAHRE, a Novel Telomeric Retrotransposon from Drosophila melanogaster, Reveals the Origin of Drosophila Telomeres

Year: 2004

Type: article

Abstract: Drosophila telomeres do not have typical telomerase repeats. Instead, two families of non-LTR retrotransposons, HeT-A and TART, maintain telomere length by occasional transposition to the chromosome ends. Despite the work on Drosophila telomeres, its evolutionary origin remains controversial. Herein we describe a novel telomere-specific retroelement that we name TAHRE (Telomere-Associated and HeT-A-Related Element). The structure of the three telomere-specific elements indicates a common ancestor. These results suggest that preexisting transposable elements were recruited to perform the cellular function of telomere maintenance. A recruitment similar to that of a retrotransposal reverse transcriptase has been suggested as the common origin of telomerases.

Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution

DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msh180

Authors: José P. Abad, Beatriz de Pablos, Kazutoyo Osoegawa, Pieter J. de Jong, Antonia Martín-Gallardo, Alfredo Villasante

Institutions: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Language: English

Topic: Chromosomal and Genetic Variations

Subfield: Plant Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

OpenAlex ID: W2144706916

FWCI: 12.12

Cites: 35

Cited by: 127

Related to: 10