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Updated: Jul 22, 2025

Amplification, Next-generation Sequencing, and Genomic DNA Mapping of Retroviral Integration Sites
Published on: March 22, 2016
Kangaroo endogenous retrovirus (KERV) forms megasatellite DNA with a simple repetition pattern in which the provirus
Akihiko Koga1, Hidenori Nishihara2, Hideyuki Tanabe3
1Center for Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Inuyama 484-8506, Japan; Animal Genomics and Bioresource Research Unit, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand.
Abstract:
The kangaroo endogenous retrovirus (KERV) was previously reported to have undergone a rapid copy number increase in the red-necked wallaby; however, the mode of amplification was left to be clarified. The present study revealed that the long terminal repeat (LTR) (0.6 kb) and internal region (2.0 kb) of a provirus are repeated alternately, forming megasatellite DNA which we named kervRep. This repetition pattern was the same as that observed for walbRep, megasatellite DNA originating from another endogenous retrovirus. Their formation process can be explained using a simple model: pairing slippage followed by homologous recombination. This model features that the initial step is triggered by the presence of two identical sequences within a short distance; the possession of LTRs by endogenous retroviruses fulfills this condition. The discovery of two cases suggests that formation of this type of satellite DNA is one of non-negligible effects of endogenous retroviruses on their host genomes.
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