Gamera, a family of LINE-like repetitive sequences widely distributed in medaka and related fishes.

A family of repetitive sequences, designated Gamera, has been identified in the genome of the Hainan medaka fish Oryzias curvinotus, a closely related species to the common medaka fish O. latipes. Sequencing and Southern blot analyses of this family revealed: (1) amino acid sequence similarity to reverse transcriptase domains of long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs); (2) 5' truncation of dispersed copies; and (3) the disruption of another genetic element, indicating a past transposition event. These results suggest that Gamera belongs to the LINE superfamily. Gamera is widely distributed in the genus Oryzias, and the phylogenetic relationship might indicate its presence in the common ancestor of the genus.