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Reverse transcriptase activity and Ty RNA are associated with virus-like particles in yeast

Nature volume 318, pages 583–586 (1985)Cite this article

Abstract

The Ty element of yeast represents a class of eukaryotic transposons that show remarkable structural similarity to retroviral proviruses1,2. Recently, these comparisons have been strengthened by a series of observations on the yeast Ty element: (1) Ty transposes via an RNA intermediate3; (2) it contains a sequence (Fig. 1) which, when translated, is homologous to a conserved region found in all reverse transcriptases4,5; (3) a fusion protein encoded by Ty is produced by a frameshift event that is directly analogous to the production of Pr180gag–polin a retrovirus such as Rous sarcoma virus5,6. Here we identify the reverse transcriptase activity that, until now, has been presumed to mediate Ty transposition and show that it is sequestered in virus-like particles that also contain Ty RNA.

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Author notes

  1. Keith Gull and Mick F. Tuite: Biological Laboratory, University of Kent at Canterbury, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NZ, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and †Botany School, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK

    Jane Mellor, Michael H. Malim, Keith Gull, Mick F. Tuite, Shirley McCready, Teresa Dibbayawan, Susan M. Kingsman & Alan J. Kingsman

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  1. Jane Mellor
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  2. Michael H. Malim
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  7. Susan M. Kingsman
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Mellor, J., Malim, M., Gull, K. et al. Reverse transcriptase activity and Ty RNA are associated with virus-like particles in yeast. Nature 318, 583–586 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/318583a0

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