Unusual long terminal repeat sequence of a retrovirus transmissible mouse (VL 30) genetic element: identification of functional domains

We have determined the nucleotide sequence and mapped the transcriptional boundaries in the long terminal repeats (LTRs) and adjacent regions of a retrovirus transmissible virus-like 30S ( VL30 ) mouse genetic element. The 572 base pair LTRs contain transcriptional regulatory sequences and are bounded by short imperfect repeats, with a minus strand tRNAgly primer binding site and a purine rich plus strand primer site flanking each of their inner boundaries. The 3' end of each LTR consists of an extensive 80 base pair redundancy of tRNA primer site and inverted repeat sequences while 41 and 47 base pair imperfect tandem repeats are present between the 5' capping site and the putative polyadenylation signal. Comparison with other retrovirus-like LTR sequences suggests possible modes of recombination that could occur between VL30 and other genetic elements.