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The telomere repeat motif of basal Metazoa

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Abstract

In most eukaryotes the telomeres consist of short DNA tandem repeats and associated proteins. Telomeric repeats are added to the chromosome ends by telomerase, a specialized reverse transcriptase. We examined telomerase activity and telomere repeat sequences in representatives of basal metazoan groups. Our results show that the ‘vertebrate’ telomere motif (TTAGGG) n is present in all basal metazoan groups, i.e. sponges, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, and Placozoa, and also in the unicellular metazoan sister group, the Choanozoa. Thus it can be considered the ancestral telomere repeat motif of Metazoa. It has been conserved from the metazoan radiation in most animal phylogenetic lineages, and replaced by other motifs–according to our present knowledge–only in two major lineages, Arthropoda and Nematoda.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Biologie, Zentrum für Medizinische Struktur- und Zellbiologie, Universität zu Lübeck, D-23538, Lübeck, Germany

    Walther Traut & Christian Opitz

  2. Department of Pathology, Section Hematopathology, Christian-Albrechts-University, Campus Kiel, D-24105, Kiel, Germany

    Monika Szczepanowski

  3. Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of South Bohemia, and Biology Centre, ASCR, Institute of Entomology, CZ-370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Magda Vítková, František Marec & Jan Zrzavý

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  1. Walther Traut
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  2. Monika Szczepanowski
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  5. František Marec
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  6. Jan Zrzavý
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Correspondence to Walther Traut.

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Traut, W., Szczepanowski, M., Vítková, M. et al. The telomere repeat motif of basal Metazoa. Chromosome Res 15, 371–382 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10577-007-1132-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10577-007-1132-3

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