Abstract
The KpnI and BamH1 (or M1F-1) families are the predominant sets of long interspersed repeated DNA sequences (LINEs) in primates and rodents, respectively. Recently, the sequences of several cloned subsegments from each family were determined in different laboratories. These sequences have now been compared and found to be homologous over at least 1400 bp. The data suggest that the two LINE families had a common progenitor and have been conserved in similar abundance although in divergent forms in the two mammalian orders.