Abstract.
We conducted comprehensive sequence analysis of 5′ flanking regions of primate Alu elements. Information contents were computed and frequencies of 1024 pentanucleotides were measured to approximate the location of a characteristic sequence and to specify its pattern(s), which may be involved in the integration of Alu elements into their host genomes. A large number of samples was used, the wide region of the 5′ end of Alu elements was analyzed, and comparisons were made among different subfamilies. Through our analyses, ``TTTTAAAAA'' or ``(T) m (A) n '' can be stated as a candidate for the characteristic sequence pattern, which resides around the region 5 to 20 base pairs upstream of the 5′ end of Alu elements. This characteristic sequence pattern was more prominent in the sequences of younger Alus, which is a strong indication that the sequence pattern has a role at the time of Alu integration.
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Received: 10 May 1999 / Accepted: 1 October 1999
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Toda, Y., Saito, R. & Tomita, M. Characteristic Sequence Pattern in the 5- to 20-bp Upstream Region of Primate Alu Elements. J Mol Evol 50, 232–237 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002399910026
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002399910026