Skip to main content
Figure 1 | Genome Biology

Figure 1

From: Are Drosophila telomeres an exception or the rule?

Figure 1

Telomere structures, illustrating the myriad mechanisms for maintaining chromosome ends. (a) Most organisms have the generic chromosome-end structure consisting of the G-rich telomere repeats (TRs) that are maintained by telomerase with adjacent telomere associated sequences (TASs), also called subtelomeric repeat sequences (STRs) (see [21,63] for review). (b) In some organisms, such as the yeast S. cerevisiae [23], the moth Bombyx mori [27,28], the alga Chlorella [25,26], and protozoan Giardia lamblia [29], there are retrotransposable elements (green arrows) embedded in or near the telomere repeats. (c) In some organisms, such as the mosquito Anopheles gambiae [19], the onion Allium cepa [20], the midge Chironomus [16,17,18,64], and the fruitfly Drosophila virilis [31], the chromosome ends consist of complex tandem repeats that are not maintained by telomerase. (d) Drosophila melanogaster and close relatives have only retrotransposable elements at their ends [7,8,9,10].

Back to article page