Henry Levin heads the Section on Eukaryotic Transposable Elements, which analyzes long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons and the integration of their cDNA into the chromosomes of host cells. Work focuses on the mechanisms that direct integration to specific chromosomal sites and the impact integration preferences have on the cell. Our studies include integration in the genome of Schizosaccharomyces pombe that occur specifically in pol II transcribed promoters. Current experiments focus on the contribution of transposable elements to the transcription of gene networks. We have also applied our methods of high throughput sequencing to map 1 million integration sites of HIV-1 in cultured cells. This data is being applied to identify the chromatin determinants of HIV-1 integration sites. Additionally, we study the potential association of transposable elements to increased risk of neuropsychiatric diseases.  We developed a novel method of integration to address important questions in biology. Transposon Integration Sequencing is a system that uses the transposable element Hermes and deep sequencing to map the essential genes ofS. pombe. We and other labs are applying this method to identify genes that contribute to specific functions such as the assembly of heterochromatin.

Transposon content of Schizosaccharomyces pombe