Cloning and characterization of a transposable-like repeat in the heterochromatin of the darkling beetle Misolampus goudoti

Genome ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 769-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Pons

A long repeat unit of the PstI family in Misolampus goudoti (Coleoptera, Tenebrionodae) is characterized in this work. The 30 sequenced units have small differences in length (consensus 1169 bp), but very similar nucleotide composition (mean 61.1% A+T). PstI repeats contain a 36-bp-long inverted repeat at both the 5′ and 3′ ends, with a fully conserved 16-bp-long motif similar to those found in class II transposable elements. However, the transposable-like PstI repeats seems to be defective, since they do not encode for any protein related with transposition. Interestingly, energetically stable hairpins resembled the structure of a miniature interspersed transposable element, suggesting that the PstI satellite DNA family in M. goudoti may have originated from an ancestral active transposable element as also described in Drosophila guanche. The presence of transposable-like structure along with the non-detection of gene conversion or unequal crossing-over events suggest that transposition could be one of the putative molecular mechanisms involved in the strong amplification and (or) homogenization of these repeats. A putative transposition of PstI repeats allowing their genomic mobility also could explain why this satellite is widely distributed to all heterochromatic regions, telomeres, pericentromeric regions, and on the Y chromosome, whereas satellites of other tenebrionids lacking transposable-like structures are restricted only to pericentromeric regions.Key words: transposable elements, MITE, satellite DNA, heterochromatin, telomere, beetle, Tenebrionidae.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4707
Author(s):  
Mariana Lopes ◽  
Sandra Louzada ◽  
Margarida Gama-Carvalho ◽  
Raquel Chaves

(Peri)centromeric repetitive sequences and, more specifically, satellite DNA (satDNA) sequences, constitute a major human genomic component. SatDNA sequences can vary on a large number of features, including nucleotide composition, complexity, and abundance. Several satDNA families have been identified and characterized in the human genome through time, albeit at different speeds. Human satDNA families present a high degree of sub-variability, leading to the definition of various subfamilies with different organization and clustered localization. Evolution of satDNA analysis has enabled the progressive characterization of satDNA features. Despite recent advances in the sequencing of centromeric arrays, comprehensive genomic studies to assess their variability are still required to provide accurate and proportional representation of satDNA (peri)centromeric/acrocentric short arm sequences. Approaches combining multiple techniques have been successfully applied and seem to be the path to follow for generating integrated knowledge in the promising field of human satDNA biology.


Genetics ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 136 (1) ◽  
pp. 333-341
Author(s):  
W Stephan ◽  
S Cho

Abstract A simulation model of sequence-dependent amplification, unequal crossing over and mutation is analyzed. This model predicts the spontaneous formation of tandem-repetitive patterns of noncoding DNA from arbitrary sequences for a wide range of parameter values. Natural selection is found to play an essential role in this self-organizing process. Natural selection which is modeled as a mechanism for controlling the length of a nucleotide string but not the sequence itself favors the formation of tandem-repetitive structures. Two measures of sequence heterogeneity, inter-repeat variability and repeat length, are analyzed in detail. For fixed mutation rate, both inter-repeat variability and repeat length are found to increase with decreasing rates of (unequal) crossing over. The results are compared with data on micro-, mini- and satellite DNAs. The properties of minisatellites and satellite DNAs resemble the simulated structures very closely. This suggests that unequal crossing over is a dominant long-range ordering force which keeps these arrays homogeneous even in regions of very low recombination rates, such as at satellite DNA loci. Our analysis also indicates that in regions of low rates of (unequal) crossing over, inter-repeat variability is maintained at a low level at the expense of much larger repeat units (multimeric repeats), which are characteristic of satellite DNA. In contrast, the microsatellite data do not fit the proposed model well, suggesting that unequal crossing over does not act on these very short tandem arrays.


BMC Genomics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Carvalho Cayres Pamponét ◽  
Margarete Magalhães Souza ◽  
Gonçalo Santos Silva ◽  
Fabienne Micheli ◽  
Cláusio Antônio Ferreira de Melo ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (02) ◽  
pp. 08-11
Author(s):  
Aytakin Hasanova

Heterochromatin of centromeric chromosome regions contains late replicating, largely repetitive DNA. It is suggested that heterochromatin participates in chromosome pairing, crossing-over and in chromosome disjunction control (1,3). Centromeric heterochromatin, a variety of heterochromatin, is a tightly packed form of DNA.Centromeric heterochromatin is a constituent in the formation ofactive centromeres in most higher-order organisms; the domain exists on both mitotic and interphase chromosomes. (4,5,6,8) Centromeric heterochromatin is usually formed on alpha satellite DNA in humans; however, there have been cases where centric heterochromatin and centromeres have formed on originally euchromatin domains lacking alpha satellite DNA; this usually happens as a result of a chromosome breakage event and the formed centromere is called a neocentromere.


Genetics ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 845-854 ◽  
Author(s):  
M M Qin ◽  
D S Robertson ◽  
A H Ellingboe

Abstract The identification of the autonomous or transposase-encoding element of the Mutator (Mu) transposable element system of maize is necessary to the characterization of the system. We reported previously that a transcript homologous to the internal region of the MuA element is associated with activity of the Mutator system. We describe here the cloning of another Mu element, designated MuA2, that cosegregates with Mutator activity as assayed by somatic instability of the a1-Mum2 allele. The MuA2 element has features typical of the transposable elements of the Mutator family, including the 210-bp terminal inverted repeats. Several lines of evidence suggest that MuA2 is an autonomous or transposase-encoding element of the Mu family: (1) MuA2 cosegregates with a genetically defined element that regulates somatic mutability of the a1-Mum2 allele; (2) MuA2 is hypomethylated while most other MuA2-hybridizing sequences in the genome are extensively methylated; (3) the increase of the copy number of MuA2 is concomitant with the increase of regulator elements; (4) MuA2-like elements are found in Mutator lines but not in non-Mutator inbreds. We propose that autonomous or transposase-encoding elements of the Mu family may be structurally conserved and MuA2-like.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 3156-3165
Author(s):  
J S Waye ◽  
H F Willard

The centromeric regions of all human chromosomes are characterized by distinct subsets of a diverse tandemly repeated DNA family, alpha satellite. On human chromosome 17, the predominant form of alpha satellite is a 2.7-kilobase-pair higher-order repeat unit consisting of 16 alphoid monomers. We present the complete nucleotide sequence of the 16-monomer repeat, which is present in 500 to 1,000 copies per chromosome 17, as well as that of a less abundant 15-monomer repeat, also from chromosome 17. These repeat units were approximately 98% identical in sequence, differing by the exclusion of precisely 1 monomer from the 15-monomer repeat. Homologous unequal crossing-over is suggested as a probable mechanism by which the different repeat lengths on chromosome 17 were generated, and the putative site of such a recombination event is identified. The monomer organization of the chromosome 17 higher-order repeat unit is based, in part, on tandemly repeated pentamers. A similar pentameric suborganization has been previously demonstrated for alpha satellite of the human X chromosome. Despite the organizational similarities, substantial sequence divergence distinguishes these subsets. Hybridization experiments indicate that the chromosome 17 and X subsets are more similar to each other than to the subsets found on several other human chromosomes. We suggest that the chromosome 17 and X alpha satellite subsets may be related components of a larger alphoid subfamily which have evolved from a common ancestral repeat into the contemporary chromosome-specific subsets.


1991 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart I. Tsubota

SummaryThe B mutation is associated with a tandem duplication of 16A1–16A7. It is unstable, mutating to wild type and to a more extreme form at a frequency of one in 1000 to 3000. The reversion to wild type is associated with the loss of one copy of the duplication, whereas the mutation to extreme B is associated with a triplication of the region. The instability of B has been attributed to unequal crossing-over between the two copies of the duplication. Recent molecular data show that there is a transposable element, B104, between the two copies of the duplication and support the hypothesis that this element generated the duplication via a recombination event. These data suggest that unequal crossing-over within the duplication may not be the cause of the instability of B. Instead, the instability may be caused by a recombination event involving the B104 element. This issue was addressed using probes for the DNA on either side of the B104 element at the B breakpoint. All of the data indicate that the B104 element is not involved in the instability of B and support the original unequal crossing-over model.


Mobile DNA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélie Teissandier ◽  
Nicolas Servant ◽  
Emmanuel Barillot ◽  
Deborah Bourc’his

Abstract Background Sequencing technologies give access to a precise picture of the molecular mechanisms acting upon genome regulation. One of the biggest technical challenges with sequencing data is to map millions of reads to a reference genome. This problem is exacerbated when dealing with repetitive sequences such as transposable elements that occupy half of the mammalian genome mass. Sequenced reads coming from these regions introduce ambiguities in the mapping step. Therefore, applying dedicated parameters and algorithms has to be taken into consideration when transposable elements regulation is investigated with sequencing datasets. Results Here, we used simulated reads on the mouse and human genomes to define the best parameters for aligning transposable element-derived reads on a reference genome. The efficiency of the most commonly used aligners was compared and we further evaluated how transposable element representation should be estimated using available methods. The mappability of the different transposon families in the mouse and the human genomes was calculated giving an overview into their evolution. Conclusions Based on simulated data, we provided recommendations on the alignment and the quantification steps to be performed when transposon expression or regulation is studied, and identified the limits in detecting specific young transposon families of the mouse and human genomes. These principles may help the community to adopt standard procedures and raise awareness of the difficulties encountered in the study of transposable elements.


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