Abstract.
The increasing amount of data generated in recent years has opened the way to exhaustive studies of the relationships among different members of the Ty3/gypsy group of LTR retrotransposons, a widespread group of eukaryotic transposable elements. Former research led to the identification of several independent lineages within this group. One of the worse represented of them is that of mdg1, integrated so far only by the Drosophila retrotransposons mdg1 and 412. Our exhaustive database searches indicate the existence of three other Drosophila members of this lineage. Two of them correspond to elements already known, namely, Stalker and blood, but the third one is a new element, which we have called Pilgrim. This element is well represented within the D. melanogaster genome, as revealed by our Southern blot analysis of different strains. The case of Stalker is particularly remarkable, since its phylogenetic relationships clearly point to the mosaic origin of its genome. Finally, our analysis of the evolution of a small ORF preserved within the 5′ leader region of these elements indicates different evolutionary rates, presumably as a result of distinct selective constraints.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received: 16 October 2000 / Accepted: 6 April 2001
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Costas, J., Valadé, E. & Naveira, H. Structural Features of the mdg1 Lineage of the Ty3/gypsy Group of LTR Retrotransposons Inferred from the Phylogenetic Analyses of Its Open Reading Frames. J Mol Evol 53, 165–171 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002390010206
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002390010206