Sequence heterogeneity of the <i>envelope</i>-like domain in the Egyptian cotton <i>Gossypium barbadense </i>

Abstract

Abbreviations; LTR: long terminal repeat, ORF: open-reading frame, PCR: polymerase chain reaction, RT: reverse transcriptase gene.


The current study aimed to investigate the evolution of env-like sequences in the Egyptian cotton Gossypium barbadense. DNA sequence determination and analysis of env -like sequences revealed that these sequences are heterogeneous in G. barbadense. The observed sequence diversity, however, seems to preserve the coding information. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that plant env -like sequences group together, suggesting their monophyletic origin. Gossypium env-like sequences are, however, more closely related to elements present in other plant species. Our result suggests that env -like sequences in cotton have evolved under functional constraint and likely to play a role in the life cycle of these elements.


Key words: Envelope, Gossypium, gypsy, plant retroviruses, retrotransposons, retroviruses, reverse transcriptase.


African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.2(10) 2003: 341-344