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Identification of transcriptional regulatory activity within the 5′ A-type monomer sequence of the mouse LINE-1 retroposon

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Abstract

LINE-1 (L1) is a retroposon found in all mammals. In the mouse, approximately 10% of L1 elements are full-length and can be grouped into two classes, A or F, based upon the type of monomer sequence repeated at the 5′ end. In order to test for promoter activity in the 5′ end of the A-type mouse L1 element, we cloned several different A-monomers into a promoterless chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) vector. The A-monomer constructs varied in their ability to regulate transcription of theCAT gene, exhibitingCAT activity 16–37% of that detected with the Rous sarcoma virus promoter and enhancer. A series of A-monomer deletions were tested for their ability to regulateCAT expression and gel retardation experiments were performed to identify regions of the A-monomer that may be involved in L1 transcriptional regulation. A-monomer sequences are usually found repeated 2–5 times at the 5′ end of a full-length mouse L1. In the absence of long terminal repeats or an internal promoter, the tandem array of A-monomers may provide a mechanism for A-type L1 elements to generate transcripts containing transcriptional regulatory sequences.

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  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27599, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    Diana M. Severynse, Clyde A. Hutchison III & Marshall H. Edgell

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  1. Diana M. Severynse
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  2. Clyde A. Hutchison III
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  3. Marshall H. Edgell
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Severynse, D.M., Hutchison, C.A. & Edgell, M.H. Identification of transcriptional regulatory activity within the 5′ A-type monomer sequence of the mouse LINE-1 retroposon. Mammalian Genome 2, 41–50 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00570439

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