Two tandemly arrayed transfer-RNA-derive SINEs of the medaka (Oryzias latipes)

Two tandemly arrayed short interspersed repetitive element (SINE) sequences were found in medaka (Oryzias latipes). These two SINE sequences, designat ed SINE1 and SINE2, were flanked by a 180-bp AT-rich region. Both appeared to be derived from transfer RNA. The former exhibited 80% sequence homology to human tRNA(Ala) and the latter exhibited 94% sequence homology to rat t RNA(Ser). SINE1 contained the retroviral U5 region, whereas SINE2 did not. This is the first sequence-level demonstration of the existence of neighbor ing SINEs in medaka.