G-quadruplex structures within the 3' UTR of LINE-1 elements stimulate retrotransposition.

Journal article

Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements (LINEs) are ubiquitous transposable elements in higher eukaryotes that play a significant role in shaping genomes due to their abundance. Here, we report that guanine-rich sequences in the 3’-UTR of hominoid-specific LINE-1 elements are coupled with retrotransposon speciation and contribute to retrotransposition through the formation of G-quadruplex (G4) structures. We demonstrate that stabilising the G4 motif of a human-specific LINE-1 element with small-molecule ligands stimulates retrotransposition.

Authors: Sahakyan, A; Murat, P; Mayer, C; Balasubramanian, S

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Journal: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 243-247
• Publication date: 2017-01-01
• Acceptance date: 2016-12-22
• DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.3367
• EISSN: 1545-9993
• ISSN: 1545-9985
• Pmid: 28134931
• Language: English
• Keywords: Mutation; Nucleotide Motifs; Retroelements; 3' Untranslated Regions; Ligands; Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements; G-Quadruplexes; Humans; Hela Cells; Base Sequence