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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Amplification, Next-generation Sequencing, and Genomic DNA Mapping of Retroviral Integration Sites
Published on: March 22, 2016
A eukaryotic gene family related to retroelement integrases
1Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
Abstract:
Proteins encoded by mobile genetic elements occasionally assume cellular roles. Telomerase, for example, is a reverse transcriptase that replicates chromosome ends, and Rag1 is a transposase that mediates immunoglobulin gene rearrangements. In this article, we report cellular genes related to integrases that are not associated with a retrovirus or retrotransposon. These integrases are found in diverse eukaryotes and are evolving under functional constraint. We propose that the cellular integrases have assumed a host role and, like their retroelement counterparts, probably function in DNA metabolism.
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