Insertion of a short repetitive sequence (D88I) in a sea urchin gene: a typical interspersed repeat?

A comparison has been made between the Sp88 gene regions of the DNAs of the sea urchins Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (Sp.) and Strongylocentrotus drobachiensis (Sd.). Examination of the 3' terminal part of the transcribed region revealed a short repetitive sequence present in Sd. but absent from Sp. A 12-nucleotide sequence present once in Sp. is almost perfectly duplicated at both ends of the repeat in Sd., suggesting that a mobile repeat was inserted in the Sd. genome. Other members of this family of repeated sequences occur in many interspersed locations in the genomes of both species. Except for the insertion duplication, the inserted sequence lacks direct or reverse repeats.