Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Amplification, Next-generation Sequencing, and Genomic DNA Mapping of Retroviral Integration Sites
Published on: March 22, 2016
Weak palindromic consensus sequences are a common feature found at the integration target sites of many retroviruses
Xiaolin Wu1, Yuan Li, Bruce Crise
1Laboratory of Molecular Technology, Scientific Application International Corporation, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, 915 Toll House Ave., Frederick, MD 21701, USA.
Abstract:
Integration into the host genome is one of the hallmarks of the retroviral life cycle and is catalyzed by virus-encoded integrases. While integrase has strict sequence requirements for the viral DNA ends, target site sequences have been shown to be very diverse. We carefully examined a large number of integration target site sequences from several retroviruses, including human immunodeficiency virus type 1, simian immunodeficiency virus, murine leukemia virus, and avian sarcoma-leukosis virus, and found that a statistical palindromic consensus, centered on the virus-specific duplicated target site sequence, was a common feature at integration target sites for these retroviruses.
Related Concept Videos
Retroviruses
Non-LTR Retrotransposons
LTR Retrotransposons
The internal coding region of LTR retrotransposons and their mechanism of transposition closely resembles a...
Retrovirus Life Cycles
DNA-only Transposons
The donor site from where the transposon is excised is either degraded or...
Viral Recombination

