S elements: A family of Tc1-like transposons in the genome of Drosophila melanogaster

Journal Article · Fri Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1995 · Genetics

OSTI ID:535345

Merriman, P J; Grimes, C D; Ambroziak, J ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN (United States); and others

The S elements form a diverse family of long-inverted-repeat transposons within the genome of Drosophila melanogaster. These elements very in size and sequence, the longest consisting of 1736 bp with 234-bp inverted terminal repeats. The longest open reading frame in an intact S element could encode a 345-amino acid polypeptide. This polypeptide is homologous to the transposases of the mariner-Tc1 superfamily of transposable elements. S elements are ubiquitous in D. melanogaster populations and also appear to be present in the genomes of two sibling species; however, they seem to be absent from 17 other Drosophila species that were examined. Within D. melanogaster strains, there are, on average, 37.4 cytologically detectable S elements per diploid genome. These elements are scattered throughout the chromosomes, but several sites in both the euchromatin and {beta} heterochromatin are consistently occupied. The discovery of an S-element-insertion mutation and a reversion of this mutation indicates that S elements are at least occasionally mobile in the D. melanogaster genome. These elements seem to insert at an AT dinucleotide within a short palindrome and apparently duplicate that dinucleotide upon insertion. 44 refs., 9 figs., 4 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 535345
• Journal Information: Genetics, Journal Name: Genetics Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 141; ISSN GENTAE; ISSN 0016-6731
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

55 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
BASIC STUDIES
CHROMOSOMES
DIPLOIDY
DNA SEQUENCING
DROSOPHILA
GENETIC MAPPING
HETEROCHROMATIN
MUTATIONS
NUCLEOTIDES
POLYPEPTIDES
POPULATIONS
SIZE
STRAINS
STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY RELATIONSHIPS
TRANSPOSONS