Human transposon-like elements insert at a preferred target site: evidence for a retrovirally mediated process

Members of the human transposon-like family of repetitive sequences (called THE 1 repeats) like many other repetitive DNA sequences are flanked by short direct repeats. Comparison of the base sequences of twelve examples of these flanking direct repeats indicates that THE 1 repeats insert into a preferred genomic target site. In one case, we have identified the sequence of an empty site into which a THE 1 element inserted. The sequence of this empty site and sequences of truncated THE 1 LTRs are consistent with a retroviral mechanism for the insertion of THE 1 elements. Truncated transposon structures illustrate for the first time that intermediate structures of retrotransposition may also be integrated into the genome.