Indeed, loop regions in HIV-1 cDNA have been shown to be preferred sites for A3G-mediated DNA deamination57, and a recent study of 560 breast cancer genomes reported multiple hotspots for APOBEC signature mutations within loop regions of predicated stem-loop structures58
Indeed, loop regions in HIV-1 cDNA have been shown to be preferred sites for A3G-mediated DNA deamination57, and a recent study of 560 breast cancer genomes reported multiple hotspots for APOBEC signature mutations within loop regions of predicated stem-loop structures58. vertebrates also have APOBEC1, which edits cytosine nucleobases in RNA and ssDNA and functions in regulating the transcriptome and likely also in blocking the spread of endogenous and exogenous mobile elements including viruses5, 6. The APOBEC3 subfamily of enzymes is specific to mammals, subject to extreme copy number variation, elicits strong preferences for ssDNA, and provides innate immune protection against a wide variety of DNA-based parasites including common retrotransposons L1 and Alu and retroviruses such as HIV-12, 7, 8. Human cells have the potential to produce up to 7 distinct…