Marsupial genome analysis suggests that satellite DNA formation from walb endogenous retrovirus is an event specific to the red-necked wallaby |
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Authors: | Akihiko Koga Kenji Hashimoto Yusuke Honda Hidenori Nishihara |
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Institution: | 1. Center for Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan;2. Toyohashi Zoo and Botanical Park, Toyohashi, Japan;3. Noichi Zoological Park of Kochi Prefecture, Konan, Japan;4. School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan |
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Abstract: | We recently identified walbRep, a satellite DNA residing in the genome of the red-necked wallaby Notamacropus rufogriseus. It originates from the walb endogenous retrovirus and is organized in a manner in which the provirus structure is retained. The walbRep repeat units feature an average pairwise nucleotide identity as high as 99.5%, raising the possibility of a recent origin. The tammar wallaby N. eugenii is a species estimated to have diverged from the red-necked wallaby 2–3 million years ago. In PCR analyses of these two and other related species, walbRep-specific fragment amplification was observed only in the red-necked wallaby. Sequence database searches for the tammar wallaby resulted in sequence alignment lists that were sufficiently powerful to exclude the possibility of walbRep existence. These results suggested that the walbRep formation occurred in the red-necked wallaby lineage after its divergence from the tammar wallaby lineage, thus in a time span of maximum 3 million years. |
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Keywords: | LTR retroelement mammal provirus replication slippage tandem repeat |
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