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Exonization of active mouse L1s: a driver of transcriptome evolution?
Tomasz Zemojtel1, Tobias Penzkofer, Jörg Schultz
1Department of Computational Molecular Biology, Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestrasse 73, D-14195 Berlin, Germany. zemojtel@molgen.mpg.de
BMC Genomics
|October 30, 2007
Summary
Long interspersed nuclear elements (LINE-1s) regulate mammalian transcriptomes. Antisense strands of active mouse L1s contain splice sites, enabling exonization and shaping the transcriptome.
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Molecular Biology
- Transcriptomics
Background:
- Long interspersed nuclear elements (LINE-1s, L1s) are mobile genetic elements implicated in regulating mammalian transcriptomes.
- Understanding the regulatory roles of L1s is crucial for comprehending genome evolution and gene expression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the functional splice sites on antisense strands of active mouse L1 subfamilies.
- To explore the potential of L1 insertions to shape the mouse transcriptome.
Main Methods:
- Genome-wide analysis of mouse L1 elements.
- Identification and characterization of conserved functional splice sites on L1 antisense strands.
Main Results:
- Active mouse L1 subfamilies (A, GF, TF) possess conserved functional splice sites on their antisense strands.
- These antisense splice sites trigger multiple exonization events.
- Intronic L1s show a strong antisense orientation bias, increasing exonization potential.
Conclusions:
- The mobility of retrotransposition-competent mouse L1s significantly shapes the mouse transcriptome.
- Continuous generation of L1 insertions into transcriptional units contributes to transcriptome diversity.
- L1s play a dynamic role in genome evolution through retrotransposition and exonization.
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