TY - JOUR
T1 - The structure and evolution of Penelope in the virilis species group of Drosophila
T2 - an ancient lineage of retroelements.
AU - Lyozin, G. T.
AU - Makarova, K. S.
AU - Velikodvorskaja, V. V.
AU - Zelentsova, H. S.
AU - Khechumian, R. R.
AU - Kidwell, M. G.
AU - Koonin, E. V.
AU - Evgen'ev, M. B.
PY - 2001/5
Y1 - 2001/5
N2 - The Penelope element is the key element responsible for mobilization of other transposable elements in the course of hybrid dysgenesis in Drosophila virilis. Penelope has an unusually complex, highly variable organization in all studied species of the virlis group. Thc BRIDGE1 element from the fish Fugu rubripes is homologous to Penelope, and database searches detected additional homologous sequences among Expressed Sequence Tags from the flatworm Schistosoma mansonii and the nematode Ancylostoma caninum. Phylogenetic analysis shows that the reverse transcriptase of the Penelope group does not belong to any of the characterized major retroelement lineages, but apparently represents a novel branch of non-LTR retroelements. Sequence profile analysis results in the prediction that the C-terminal domain of the Penelope polyprotein is an active endonuclease related to intron-encoded endonucleases and the bacterial repair endonuclease UvrC, which could function as an integrase. No retroelements containing a predicted endonuclease of this family have been described previously. Phylogenetic analysis of Penelope copies isolated from several species of the virilis group reveals two subfamilies of Penelope elements, one of which includes full-length copies whose nucleotide sequences are almost identical, whereas the other one consists of highly diverged defective copies. Phylogenetic analysis of Penelope suggests both vertical transmission of the element and probable horizontal transfers. These findings support the notion that Penelope invasions occurred repeatedly in the evolution of the virilis group.
AB - The Penelope element is the key element responsible for mobilization of other transposable elements in the course of hybrid dysgenesis in Drosophila virilis. Penelope has an unusually complex, highly variable organization in all studied species of the virlis group. Thc BRIDGE1 element from the fish Fugu rubripes is homologous to Penelope, and database searches detected additional homologous sequences among Expressed Sequence Tags from the flatworm Schistosoma mansonii and the nematode Ancylostoma caninum. Phylogenetic analysis shows that the reverse transcriptase of the Penelope group does not belong to any of the characterized major retroelement lineages, but apparently represents a novel branch of non-LTR retroelements. Sequence profile analysis results in the prediction that the C-terminal domain of the Penelope polyprotein is an active endonuclease related to intron-encoded endonucleases and the bacterial repair endonuclease UvrC, which could function as an integrase. No retroelements containing a predicted endonuclease of this family have been described previously. Phylogenetic analysis of Penelope copies isolated from several species of the virilis group reveals two subfamilies of Penelope elements, one of which includes full-length copies whose nucleotide sequences are almost identical, whereas the other one consists of highly diverged defective copies. Phylogenetic analysis of Penelope suggests both vertical transmission of the element and probable horizontal transfers. These findings support the notion that Penelope invasions occurred repeatedly in the evolution of the virilis group.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0035348222&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s002390010174
DO - 10.1007/s002390010174
M3 - Article
C2 - 11443348
AN - SCOPUS:0035348222
SN - 0022-2844
VL - 52
SP - 445
EP - 456
JO - Journal of Molecular Evolution
JF - Journal of Molecular Evolution
IS - 5
ER -