Human Telomeres Contain at Least Three Types of G-Rich Repeat Distributed Non-Randomly

Allshire, R. C., Dempster, M., Hastie, N. D. (June 1989) Human Telomeres Contain at Least Three Types of G-Rich Repeat Distributed Non-Randomly. Nucleic Acids Research, 17 (12). pp. 4611-4628. ISSN 1362-4962

Abstract

Using a combination of different oligonucleotides and restriction enzymes we have examined the gross organisation of repeats within the most distal region of human chromosomes. We demonstrate here that human telomeres do not contain a pure uniform 6 base pair repeat unit but that there are at least three types of repeat. These three types of repeat are present at the ends of most or all human chromosomes. The distribution of each type of repeat appears to be non-random. Each human telomere has a similar arrangement of these repeats relative to the ends of the chromosome. This could reflect differences in the functions that they perform, or might result from the mutation and correction processes occurring at human telomeres. The number of repeat units, the repeat types and arrangement differ at mouse telomeres. Analysing the change in length of the telomeric repeat region between an individuals blood and germline DNA reveals that this is due to variable amounts of the TTAGGG repeat and not the other repeat types. This organisation of repeat units at human telomeres will only be confirmed upon the isolation and sequencing of full length (10-15 kn), intact human telomeres.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > chromosomes, structure and function
organism description > animal > mammal > primates > hominids > human
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > oligonucleotide
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > protein structure, function, modification > protein types > restriction enzyme
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs
Depositing User: Gail Sherman
Date: 26 June 1989
Date Deposited: 31 Jul 2017 18:53
Last Modified: 31 Jul 2017 18:53
PMCID: PMC318019
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/34824

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