ArticlePLoS biology2005
RAG1 core and V(D)J recombination signal sequences were derived from Transib transposons.
Article in PLoS biology, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 236 papers.
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Who cites it
236 citing papers in PubMed, 487 citations in OpenAlex.
- A functional atlas of transposon-encoded products and their integration into host networks.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Multiple evolutionary routes to immune diversification across animals.International immunology · 2026Review
- Transposable element regulation in mammalian germ cells and other contexts: multilayered repression, fertility, and regulated activation.Epigenomics · 2026Review
- ThePlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
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- Host-transposon mutualism supports regeneration in planarians.Developmental cell · 2026Article
- A developmental condensin I complex assists the Paramecium PiggyMac domesticated transposase during programmed DNA elimination.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- Insights into cephalochordate genome and gene evolution from the early-diverging amphioxusProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- The role of KRAB zinc-finger proteins in expanding the domestication potential of transposable elements.Nature genetics · 2026Review
- Imagin: An Integrase-Like Gene Conserved Across Malacostracan Crustaceans Derived From a Ginger1 DNA Transposon.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Proximity-based proteomic profiling uncovers distinct interactome of human RAG1 and RAG2.Acta biochimica et biophysica Sinica · 2026Article
- Immunity: defense against infections essential for all living organisms.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
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- Acytota and the evolution of complexity.European biophysics journal : EBJ · 2025Review
- Pogo transposons provide tools to restrict cancer growth.Molecular oncology · 2025Article
- Gödelian embodied self-referential genomic intelligence: lessons for AI and AGI from the genomic blockchain.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2025Article
- Candidate SNP Markers Significantly Altering the Affinity of the TATA-Binding Protein for the Promoters of Human Genes Associated with Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- The Janus (dual) model of immunoglobulin isotype evolution: Conservation and plasticity are the defining paradigms.Immunological reviews · 2024Review
- Evolution of Repetitive Elements, Their Roles in Homeostasis and Human Disease, and Potential Therapeutic Applications.Biomolecules · 2024Review
- Causes and Consequences of Varying Transposable Element Activity: An Evolutionary Perspective.Annual review of genomics and human genetics · 2024Review
176 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The V(D)J recombination reaction in jawed vertebrates is catalyzed by the RAG1 and RAG2 proteins, which are believed to have emerged approximately 500 million years ago from transposon-encoded proteins. Yet no transposase sequence similar to RAG1 or RAG2 has been found. Here we show that the approximately 600-amino acid "core" region of RAG1 required for its catalytic activity is significantly similar to the transposase encoded by DNA transposons that belong to the Transib superfamily. This superfamily was discovered recently based on computational analysis of the fruit fly and African malaria mosquito genomes. Transib transposons also are present in the genomes of sea urchin, yellow fever mosquito, silkworm, dog hookworm, hydra, and soybean rust. We demonstrate that recombination signal sequences (RSSs) were derived from terminal inverted repeats of an ancient Transib transposon. Furthermore, the critical DDE catalytic triad of RAG1 is shared with the Transib transposase as part of conserved motifs. We also studied several divergent proteins encoded by the sea urchin and lancelet genomes that are 25%-30% identical to the RAG1 N-terminal domain and the RAG1 core. Our results provide the first direct evidence linking RAG1 and RSSs to a specific superfamily of DNA transposons and indicate that the V(D)J machinery evolved from transposons. We propose that only the RAG1 core was derived from the Transib transposase, whereas the N-terminal domain was assembled from separate proteins of unknown function that may still be active in sea urchin, lancelet, hydra, and starlet sea anemone. We also suggest that the RAG2 protein was not encoded by ancient Transib transposons but emerged in jawed vertebrates as a counterpart of RAG1 necessary for the V(D)J recombination reaction.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.