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. 1996 May;70(5):3302–3306. doi: 10.1128/jvi.70.5.3302-3306.1996

Human endogenous retrovirus K10 encodes a functional integrase.

Y Kitamura 1, T Ayukawa 1, T Ishikawa 1, T Kanda 1, K Yoshiike 1
PMCID: PMC190198  PMID: 8627815

Abstract

We cloned a human endogenous retrovirus K1O DNA fragment encoding integrase and expressed it as a fusion protein with Escherichia coli maltose-binding protein. Integrase activities were measured in vitro by using a double-stranded oligonucleotide as a substrate mimicking viral long terminal repeats (LTR). The fusion protein was highly active for both terminal cleavage and strand transfer in the presence of Mn2+ on the K1O LTR substrate. It was also active on both Rous sarcoma virus and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 LTR substrates, whereas Rous sarcoma virus and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 integrases were active only on their corresponding LTR substrates. The results strongly suggest that K1O encodes a functional integrase with relaxed substrate specificity.

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Selected References

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