RT Journal
A1 Hedges, Dale J.
A1 Callinan, Pauline A.
A1 Cordaux, Richard
A1 Xing, Jinchuan
A1 Barnes, Erin
A1 Batzer, Mark A.
T1 Differential Alu Mobilization and Polymorphism Among the Human and Chimpanzee Lineages
JF Genome Research 
JO Genome Research 
YR 2004 
FD June 01 
VO 14 
IS 6 
SP 1068 
OP 1075 
DO 10.1101/gr.2530404 
UL http://genome.cshlp.org/content/14/6/1068.abstract 
AB Alu elements are primate-specific members of the SINE (short interspersed element) retroposon family, which comprise ∼10% of the human genome. Here we report the first chromosomal-level comparison examining the Alu retroposition dynamics following the divergence of humans and chimpanzees. We find a twofold increase in Alu insertions in humans in comparison to the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). The genomic diversity (polymorphism for presence or absence of the Alu insertion) associated with these inserts indicates that, analogous to recent nucleotide diversity studies, the level of chimpanzee Alu diversity is ∼1.7 times higher than that of humans. Evolutionarily recent Alu subfamily structure differs markedly between the human and chimpanzee lineages, with the major human subfamilies remaining largely inactive in the chimpanzee lineage. We propose a population-based model to account for the observed fluctuation in Alu retroposition rates across primate taxa.