Genome Biology

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SINEs point to abundant editing in the human genome

Joshua DeCerbo and Gordon G Carmichael*

Author Affiliations

Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030-3301, USA

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Genome Biology 2005, 6:216 doi:10.1186/gb-2005-6-4-216

Published: 31 March 2005

Abstract

Recent bioinformatic analyses suggest that almost all human transcripts are edited by adenosine deaminases (ADARs), converting adenosines to inosines. Most of this editing is in Alu element transcripts, which are unique to primates. This editing might have no function or might be involved in functions such as the regulation of splicing, chromatin or nuclear localization of transcripts.