Bidirectional transcription from a solo long terminal repeat of the retrotransposon TED: symmetrical RNA start sites

Abstract

A single copy of the retrotransposon TED was found integrated within the DNA genome of the insect baculovirus, Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus. After excision of the element from the viral genome, a single long terminal repeat (LTR) remained behind. We have examined the effect of this solo TED LTR on the local pattern of viral transcription. Most prominent was the transcription of two sets of abundant RNAs; both originated within the LTR but extended in opposite directions into flanking viral genes. By promoting symmetric transcription of adjacent genes, the solo LTR has the capacity to activate or repress gene expression in two directions. Primer extension analysis demonstrated that the divergent LTR transcripts were initiated near the same point within a 22-base-pair sequence having hyphenated twofold symmetry. Analogous symmetries at the initiation sites of other retrotransposon LTRs, including copia and Ty, suggested that these sequences serve to establish the precise start for transcription.