JavaScript is disabled
Our website requires JavaScript to function properly. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser settings before proceeding.
LTR retrotransposons are class I transposable element characterized by the presence of long terminal repeats (LTRs) directly flanking an internal coding region. As retrotransposons, they mobilize through reverse transcription of their mRNA and integration of the newly created cDNA into another location. Their mechanism of retrotransposition is shared with retroviruses, with the difference that most LTR-retrotransposons do not form infectious particles that leave the cells and therefore only replicate inside their genome of origin. Those that do (occasionally) form virus-like particles are classified under Ortervirales.
Their size ranges from a few hundred base pairs to 25kb, for example the Ogre retrotransposon in the pea genome.
In plant genomes, LTR retrotransposons are the major repetitive sequence class, for example, constituting more than 75% of the maize genome. LTR retrotransposons make up about 8% of the human genome and approximately 10% of the mouse genome.

View More On Wikipedia.org
Back Top