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Updated: May 5, 2026

Analysis of LINE-1 Retrotransposition at the Single Nucleus Level
Published on: April 23, 2016
The carboxy-terminal segment of the human LINE-1 ORF2 protein is involved in RNA binding
Olga Piskareva1, Christina Ernst, Niamh Higgins
1National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland.
Abstract:
The human LINE-1/L1 ORF2 protein is a multifunctional enzyme which plays a vital role in the life cycle of the human L1 retrotransposon. The protein consists of an endonuclease domain, followed by a central reverse transcriptase domain and a carboxy-terminal C-domain with unknown function. Here, we explore the nucleic acid binding properties of the 180-amino acid carboxy-terminal segment (CTS) of the human L1 ORF2p in vitro. In a series of experiments involving gel shift assay, we demonstrate that the CTS of L1 ORF2p binds RNA in non-sequence-specific manner. Finally, we report that mutations destroying the putative Zn-knuckle structure of the protein do not significantly affect the level of RNA binding and discuss the possible functional role of the CTS in L1 retrotransposition.
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