Unusual priming mechanism of RNA-directed DNA synthesis in copia retrovirus-like particles of Drosophila (original) (raw)

Nature volume 323, pages 824–826 (1986)Cite this article

Abstract

Drosophila cells contain virus-like particles (VLPs) containing 5 kilobases (kb) of RNA (VLP H-RNA) homologous to the transposable element _copia_1. The identity between VLP H-RNA and copia DNA has previously been confirmed at the nucleotide sequence level2 and reverse transcriptase activity is also detected in the VLPs1. These results suggest that VLPs and copia are derivatives of viral particle and provirus forms, respectively, of the copia retrovirus-like particle. If the copia retrovirus-like particle replicates by a mechanism similar to the mechanism of vertebrate retroviral replication, a cellular transfer RNA would prime synthesis of the first DNA strand. We show that this is indeed so but that copia retrovirus-like particle has a novel type of priming mechanism; the first DNA extension does not start from the 3′ end of a tRNA, but from an internal site (two nucleotides after the anticodon loop) of the Drosophila initiator methionine tRNA (tRNAiMet)

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Author notes

  1. Tadayoshi Shiba
    Present address: Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Kitasato University, School of Hygienic Science, 1-15-1 Kitasato, Sagamihara-shi, Kanagawa, 228, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Mitsubishi-Kasei Institute of Life Sciences, 11 Minamiooya, Machida-shi, Tokyo, 194, Japan
    Yo Kikuchi & Yumiko Ando
  2. Laboratory of Cell Biology, Mitsubishi-Kasei Institute of Life Sciences, 11 Minamiooya, Machida-shi, Tokyo, 194, Japan
    Tadayoshi Shiba

Authors

  1. Yo Kikuchi
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  2. Yumiko Ando
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  3. Tadayoshi Shiba
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Kikuchi, Y., Ando, Y. & Shiba, T. Unusual priming mechanism of RNA-directed DNA synthesis in copia retrovirus-like particles of Drosophila.Nature 323, 824–826 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/323824a0

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