@article {12987, title = {copia-like retrotransposons are ubiquitous among plants}, journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci USA}, volume = {89}, year = {1992}, month = {1992/08//}, pages = {7124 - 7128}, abstract = {Transposable genetic elements are assumed to be a feature of all eukaryotic genomes. Their identification, however, has largely been haphazard, limited principally to organisms subjected to molecular or genetic scrutiny. We assessed the phylogenetic distribution of copia-like retrotransposons, a class of transposable element that proliferates by reverse transcription, using a polymerase chain reaction assay designed to detect copia-like element reverse transcriptase sequences. copia-like retrotransposons were identified in 64 plant species as well as the photosynthetic protist Volvox carteri. The plant species included representatives from 9 of 10 plant divisions, including bryophytes, lycopods, ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. DNA sequence analysis of 29 cloned PCR products and of a maize retrotransposon cDNA confirmed the identity of these sequences as copia-like reverse transcriptase sequences, thereby demonstrating that this class of retrotransposons is a ubiquitous component of plant genomes.}, author = {Voytas,D. F and Cummings, Michael P. and Koniczny,A. and Ausubel,F. M and Rodermel,S. R} }