Hypervariable ultra-long telomeres in mice (original) (raw)
- Letter
- Published: 27 September 1990
Nature volume 347, pages 400–402 (1990)Cite this article
- 1110 Accesses
- 512 Citations
- 6 Altmetric
- Metrics details
Abstract
TELOMERE structure and behaviour is less well understood in vertebrates than it is in ciliates and yeasts (reviewed in ref. 1). Like all other eukaryotic chromosomes, those of vertebrates terminate in an array of a short repeated sequence. In vertebrates this sequence is (TTAGGG)n, as shown by in situ hybridization2,3. In humans, these terminal repeats are heterogeneous in length, averaging about 10 kilobases in blood cells4–6. Here we report the structure and inheritance of the terminal repeats present at mouse telomeres. The (TTAGGG)n tracts are many times larger than those present at human telomeres. Because of their constancy in length through somatic cell divisions, they are resolved as multiple discrete restriction fragments of up to 150 kilobases. Strikingly, this banding pattern is highly polymorphic within populations of inbred mice, suggesting an unusually high mutation rate. Indeed, although the banding pattern is inherited in a largely mendelian fashion, (TTAGGG)n tracts of new size appear frequently in family studies.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Additional access options:
Similar content being viewed by others
References
- Zakian, V. A. A. Rev. Genet. 23, 579–604 (1989).
Article CAS Google Scholar - Moyzis, R. K. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85, 6622–6626 (1988).
Article ADS CAS Google Scholar - Meyne, J., Ratliff, R. L. & Moyzis, R. K. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 86, 7049–7053 (1989).
Article ADS CAS Google Scholar - Alishire, R. C., Dempster, M. & Hastie, N. D. Nucleic Acids Res. 17, 4611–4627 (1989).
Article Google Scholar - Cross, S. H., Allshire, R. C., McKay, S. J., McGill, N. I. & Cooke, H. J. Nature 338, 771–774 (1989).
Article ADS CAS Google Scholar - de Lange, T. et al. Molec. cell. Biol. 10, 518–527 (1990).
CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar - Biessmann, H., Carter, S. B. & Mason, J. M. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87, 1758–1761 (1990).
Article ADS CAS Google Scholar - Levis, R. W. Cell 58, 791–801 (1989).
Article CAS Google Scholar - Harley, C. B., Futcher, A. B. & Greider, C. W. Nature 345, 458–460 (1990).
Article ADS CAS Google Scholar - Hastie, N. O. et al. Nature (in the press).
- Allshire, R. C. et al. Cell 50, 391–403 (1987).
Article CAS Google Scholar - Pietras, D. F. et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 11, 6965–6983 (1983).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
David Kipling & Howard J. Cooke
Authors
- David Kipling
You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar - Howard J. Cooke
You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kipling, D., Cooke, H. Hypervariable ultra-long telomeres in mice.Nature 347, 400–402 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/347400a0
- Received: 27 June 1990
- Published: 27 September 1990
- Issue Date: 27 September 1990
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/347400a0