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The genomic organization of non-LTR retrotransposons (LINEs) from three Beta species and five other angiosperms

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Abstract

We have isolated and characterized conserved regions of the reverse transcriptase gene from non-LTR retrotransposons, also called long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs), from Beta vulgaris, B. lomatogona and B. nana. The novel elements show strong homology to other non-LTR retrotransposons from plants, man and animals. LINEs are present in all species of the genus Beta tested, but there was variation in copy number. Analysis by Southern hybridization and fluorescent in situ hybridization revealed the clustered organization of these retroelements in beet species. PCR amplification using degenerate primers to conserved motifs of the predicted LINE protein sequence enabled the cloning of LINEs from both Monocotyledonae (Allium cepa, Oryza sativa and Secale cereale) and Dicotyledonae (Nicotiana tabacum and Antirrhinum majus) indicating that LINEs are a universal feature of plant genomes. A dendrogram of fifteen new and six previously isolated sequences showed the high level of sequence divergence while revealing families characteristic of some genera. The genomic organization of non-LTR retrotransposons was examined more detailed in A. majus and O. sativa.

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Author notes

  1. Sybille E. Kubis & John S. Heslop-Harrison

    Present address: Department of Cell Biology, John Innes Centre, Colney Lane, Karyobiology Group, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Norman Borlaug Institute, DeMontfort University Leicester, Scraptoft, Leicester, LE7 9SU, UK

    Sybille E. Kubis & John S. Heslop-Harrison

  2. Institute of Crop Science and Plant Breeding, Christian Albrechts University Kiel, Olshausenstrasse 40, 24118, Kiel, Germany

    Christine Desel & Thomas Schmidt

Authors
  1. Sybille E. Kubis
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  2. John S. Heslop-Harrison
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  3. Christine Desel
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  4. Thomas Schmidt
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Kubis, S.E., Heslop-Harrison, J.S., Desel, C. et al. The genomic organization of non-LTR retrotransposons (LINEs) from three Beta species and five other angiosperms. Plant Mol Biol 36, 821–831 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005973932556

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