Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 13, 2026

Amplification, Next-generation Sequencing, and Genomic DNA Mapping of Retroviral Integration Sites
Published on: March 22, 2016
Retrotransposons. An RNA polymerase III subunit determines sites of retrotransposon integration
Antoine Bridier-Nahmias1, Aurélie Tchalikian-Cosson2, Joshua A Baller3
1Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, INSERM U944, CNRS UMR 7212, Institut Universitaire d'Hématologie, Hôpital St. Louis, 75010 Paris, France. Department CASER Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (Cnam), 75003 Paris, France.
Abstract:
Mobile genetic elements are ubiquitous. Their integration site influences genome stability and gene expression. The Ty1 retrotransposon of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae integrates upstream of RNA polymerase III (Pol III)-transcribed genes, yet the primary determinant of target specificity has remained elusive. Here we describe an interaction between Ty1 integrase and the AC40 subunit of Pol III and demonstrate that AC40 is the predominant determinant targeting Ty1 integration upstream of Pol III-transcribed genes. Lack of an integrase-AC40 interaction dramatically alters target site choice, leading to a redistribution of Ty1 insertions in the genome, mainly to chromosome ends. The mechanism of target specificity allows Ty1 to proliferate and yet minimizes genetic damage to its host.
Related Concept Videos
LTR Retrotransposons
The internal coding region of LTR retrotransposons and their mechanism of transposition closely resembles a...
Non-LTR Retrotransposons
DNA-only Transposons
The donor site from where the transposon is excised is either degraded or...
Overview of Transposition and Recombination
Retroviruses
piRNA - Piwi-interacting RNAs

