Biopolym. Cell. 1988; 4(2):107-110.
http://dx.doi.org/10.7124/bc.00021A
Short Communications
Mycoplasma DNAs contain fragments homologous to long terminal repeats of Rauscher leukemia virus
1Borchsenius S. N., 2Rakovskaya I. V., 1Chernova O. A., 1Merkulova N. A.
  1. Institute of Cytology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR
    Leningrad, USSR
  2. N. F. Gamaleja Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR
    Moscow, USSR

Abstract

Mycoplasmas activate persistent and oncogenous viruses. The mycoplasma-virus-mammalian cell system is of interest to clarify the possible interaction of these organisms on the genome level. It is found that DNA EcoRV-iragmenis containing rRNA genes of mycoplasmas (A. laidlawii, M. arthritidls, M. gallisepticum, M. mycoides subsp. capri) are homologous to long terminal repeats of Rauscher leukemia virus (LTR RLV). The same EcoRV-fragments of A. laidlawii are homologous to sites of eukaryotic topoisomerase I (Top I). It is conceivable that LTR RLV contain Top I sites and the observed effect is a consequence of these sites homology. The revealed homology of LTR RLV with DNAs of mycoplasmas is a promise for genome exchange between viruses and mycoplasmas.
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