Snapshots of genetic copy-and-paste machinery in action

Cristofari, Gael

doi:10.1038/d41586-024-00112-w

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15 January 2024

Snapshots of genetic copy-and-paste machinery in action

LINE-1 DNA elements self-duplicate, inserting the copy into new regions of the genome — a key process in chromosome evolution. Structures of the machinery that performs this process in humans are now reported.

Gael Cristofari⁰

Gael Cristofari
1. Gael Cristofari is at the University Cote d’Azur, Inserm, CNRS, Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging of Nice (IRCAN), Nice 06107, France.
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DNA sequences known as LINE-1 (L1) elements replicate themselves and spread throughout mammalian genomes using a biological ‘copy and paste’ mechanism. Writing in Nature, Thawani et al.¹ and Baldwin et al.² report X-ray and cryoelectron-microscopy structures of the remarkable complex that enables L1 to propagate itself — providing insight into how and where this DNA element is duplicated.

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Nature 626, 40-42 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00112-w

References

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Competing Interests

G.C. is an unpaid associate editor of the journal Mobile DNA (Springer Nature).

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[1] Thawani, A., Florez Ariza, A. J., Nogales, E. & Collins, K. Nature 626, 186–193 (2024).
Article Google Scholar

[2] Baldwin, E. T. et al. Nature 626, 194–206 (2024).
Article Google Scholar

[3] Kazazian, H. H. & Moran, J. V. N. Engl. J. Med. 377, 361–370 (2017).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[4] Sultana, T. et al. Mol. Cell 74, 555–570 (2019).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[5] Flasch, D. A. et al. Cell 177, 837–851 (2019).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[6] Sultana, T., Zamborlini, A., Cristofari, G. & Lesage, P. Nature Rev. Genet. 18, 292–308 (2017).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[7] Luan, D. D., Korman, M. H., Jakubczak, J. L. & Eickbush, T. H. Cell 72, 595–605 (1993).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[8] Deng, P. et al. Cell 186, 2865–2879 (2023).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[9] Wilkinson, M. E., Frangieh, C. J., Macrae, R. K. & Zhang, F. Science 380, 301–308 (2023).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[10] Doucet, A. J., Wilusz, J. E., Miyoshi, T., Liu, Y. & Moran, J. V. Mol. Cell 60, 728–741 (2015).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[11] Monot, C. et al. PLoS Genet. 9, e1003499 (2013).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[12] Piskareva, O. & Schmatchenko, V. FEBS Lett. 580, 661–668 (2006).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[13] Kulpa, D. A. & Moran, J. V. Nature Struct. Mol. Biol. 13, 655–660 (2006).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[14] De Cecco, M. et al. Nature 566, 73–78 (2019).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[15] Thomas, C. A. et al. Cell Stem Cell 21, 319–331 (2017).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[16] Taylor, M. S. et al. Cell 155, 1034–1048 (2013).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[17] Benitez-Guijarro, M. et al. EMBO J. 37, e98506 (2018).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[18] Zhao, C., Liu, F. & Pyle, A. M. RNA 24, 183–195 (2018).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[19] Brochard, T. et al. Ageing Res. Rev. 92, 102132 (2023).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

[20] Rajurkar, M. et al. Cancer Discov. 12, 1462–1481 (2022).
Article PubMed Google Scholar

Snapshots of genetic copy-and-paste machinery in action

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Postdoctoral fellow at USC (Dr. Jian-Fu Chen lab), Los Angeles

Associate Editor, Physics of Living Systems

Senior Project Manager

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Postdoctoral Fellow in Immunology at Northwestern University

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Jobs

Postdoctoral fellow at USC (Dr. Jian-Fu Chen lab), Los Angeles

Associate Editor, Physics of Living Systems

Senior Project Manager

Senior Commercial Manager (Open Access)

Postdoctoral Fellow in Immunology at Northwestern University

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