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Neurogenetics

New LINEs of thought

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 6, page 586 (2005)Cite this article

LINE1 (or L1) elements are the only active retrotransposons in the human genome, and have had a significant hand in shaping the evolution of our genome. It makes evolutionary sense for these elements to jump about in germ cells, as this increases their representation in the next generation. On the other hand, their activity in somatic cells would seem counterproductive — L1s might actually harm the host (for example, by affecting its reproduction) and halt their own propagation. But this is exactly what was seen when an engineered human L1 transgene was introduced either in cultured rat neural progenitor cells or in transgenic mice. Not only did the transgenes create more copies of themselves in these two systems, but the L1 DNA inserted itself into the genome, affecting the expression of several neuronal genes.

These results are startling for two reasons. First, L1 elements are thought to insert themselves at random; this was clearly not the case here, where the elements preferred to jump into genes or close to them (and, in one case, twice in the same gene). Second, the insertion of new L1 copies disrupted gene expression and influenced neuronal differentiation. As the authors cautiously speculate, this burst of activity and its consequent effect on brain development could contribute to making individuals unique.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Muotri, A. R. & Chu, V. T. et al. Somatic mosaicism in neuronal precursor cells mediated by L1 retrotransposition. Nature 435, 903–910 (2005)

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FURTHER READING

  1. Ostertag, E. M. & Kazazian, H. H. LINEs in mind. Nature 435, 890–891 (2005)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Brookfield, J. F. The ecology of the genome — mobile DNA elements and their hosts. Nature Rev. Genet. 6, 128–136 (2005)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nature Reviews Genetics,

    Tanita Casci Senior Editor

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  1. Tanita Casci Senior Editor
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Casci, T. New LINEs of thought. Nat Rev Neurosci 6, 586 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1737

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1737

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