Determination of a functional ancestral sequence and definition of the 5' end of A-type mouse L1 elements.

The complete nucleotide sequence of L1Md-A13, a 6372 base-pair (bp) member of the L1Md repetitive family isolated from a BALB/c mouse genomic DNA library, is reported. The nucleotide sequence of 4331 bp from the 5' end of L1Md-9, which is located in the beta-globin complex of the C57BL/10 mouse, is also reported. Parsimony analysis of these sequences plus two previously reported L1Md sequences allows the determination of an ancestral L1Md sequence. Analysis of the L1Md population indicates that this ancestral sequence is likely to represent a functional L1 sequence. This ancestral sequence confirms that the length (1137 bp and 3900 bp) and relationship (14 bp overlap) of the two large open reading frames previously reported are conserved features of the L1Md family. It also allows the determination of an ancestral amino acid sequence for these two open reading frames. Full-length L1Md elements have one of two sequences tandemly repeated at the 5' end. These two monomers are called A-type and F-type. Our data define the 5' end of A-type full-length L1Md elements. L1Md elements of the A-type have varying numbers of tandemly repeated 208 bp monomers, but each element ends about 78 bp from the 5' end of the terminal 208 bp monomer.