What is pv92 Alu?
Since the late 1970s, molecular biologists have been fascinated by the presence in eukaryotic DNA of vast amounts of non-coding sequences called introns or intergenic DNA. The function of non-coding, or “junk”, DNA is debated. Interestingly, a large portion of intron DNA consists of repeated segments. One such segment is the Alu family of short interspersed repeated elements (SINEs) which are distributed throughout primate genomes. Over the past 65 million years, the Alu sequence has amplified via an RNA-mediated transposition process to a copy number of about 500,000 comprising an estimated 5% of the human genome. Alu sequences are thought to be derived from the 7SL RNA gene which encodes the RNA component of the signal recognition particle that functions in protein synthesis. Alu elements are approximately 300-bp in length and derive their name from a single recognition site for the endonuclease Alu-I located near the middle of the Alu sequence. Approximately 500-2000 Alu SINEs are r
