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Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in Veterinary Medicine.

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (basonym M. paratuberculosis) is the etiologic agent of a severe gastroenteritis in ruminants known as Johne's disease. Economic losses to the cattle industry in the United States are staggering, reaching $1.5 billion annually. A potential pathogenic role in humans in the etiology of Crohn's disease is under investigation. In this article, we review the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnostics, and disease control measures of this important veterinary pathogen. We emphasize molecular genetic aspects including the description of markers used for strain identification, diagnostics, and phylogenetic analysis. Recent important advances in the development of animal models and genetic systems to study M. paratuberculosis virulence determinants are also discussed. We conclude with proposals for the applications of these models and recombinant technology to the development of diagnostic, control, and therapeutic measures.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Tn5-induced mutations affecting virulence factors of Bordetella pertussis.

Transposon Tn5 was used to isolate mutants of Bordetella pertussis. Strains with Tn5 insertions were screened for loss of virulence-associated factors, including filamentous hemagglutinin, hemolysin, and pertussis toxin. Several mutants deficient for hemolysin production were obtained. All produced dermonecrotic toxin, pertussis toxin, and filamentous hemagglutinin, but were found to vary with respect to adenylate cyclase production. One hemolysin mutant had no detectable adenylate cyclase activity; others had 0.6% or 16% wild-type activity, whereas a fourth seemed to be unaffected in terms of adenylate cyclase activity. Mutants deficient in the ability to hemagglutinate sheep erythrocytes were also isolated. These mutants either failed to synthesize or produced reduced amounts of three protein species of 200,000, 130,000, and 100,000 daltons, all of which reacted with antiserum to filamentous hemagglutinin. Pertussis toxin mutants were identified by screening culture supernatants for failure to induce a clustered growth pattern in Chinese hamster ovary cells, and identification was confirmed by the standard histamine-sensitizing assay in mice. These mutants will be useful to determine the relative contribution of each virulence factor to pathogenicity as well as to determine the identity of the antigens important in protective immunity.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium resistance to bile: identification and characterization of the tolQRA cluster.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is resistant to the action of bile salts, and resistance to bile is enhanced in strains in which the PhoP-PhoQ (PhoPQ) two-component regulatory system has been activated. To identify genes necessary for bile resistance, MudJ transposon mutagenesis was performed on a strain containing a phoP mutation that results in constitutive expression of PhoP-activated genes. After screening >10,000 mutants for the loss of growth on Luria-Bertani broth-bile plates, 14 bile-sensitive mutants were identified. Of these 14 mutants, 3 were found to retain the bile sensitivity phenotype upon P22 transduction, to possess wild-type growth characteristics, and to contain a smooth lipopolysaccharide. Southern hybridization experiments showed that all three strains contained unique insertions. DNA sequencing of the transposon-chromosomal-DNA fusion junctions of these strains showed all to be linked to the putative Salmonella orf1-tolQRA operon, with insertions in tolQ, orf1, and a gene upstream of the orf1-tolQRA operon not previously associated with Tol function (orfX). Through the use of transcriptional fusions, none of the putative tol (or tol-associated) genes were shown to be regulated by PhoPQ, bile, or the RcsC-RcsB two-component system; however, all of the genes (orfX, orf1, tolQRA) are predicted to be cotranscribed. This is the first identification of Salmonella serovar Typhimurium Tol homologs and the first demonstration of their role in bile resistance in this organism. In addition, the observed regulation, operon arrangement, and phenotypes associated with these tol genes demonstrate significant differences from their Escherichia coli homologs.

Bacterial Proteins↗

Identification of target genes of the homeotic gene Antennapedia by enhancer detection.

Localized expression of the homeotic gene Antennapedia (Antp) in Drosophila melanogaster is required for normal development of the thoracic segments. When the Antp gene is expressed ectopically in the larval primordium of the antenna, the antennal imaginal disc, the developmental fate of the disc is switched and the adult antenna is transformed to a mesothoracic leg. We screened approximately 550 different fly strains carrying single copies of an enhancer-detector transposon to identify regulatory elements and corresponding genes that are either activated or repressed in antennal discs in response to this transformation. Several regulatory elements that are either direct or indirect targets of Antp were found. One transposant that expresses the reporter gene (lacZ) in the antennal disc, but not in the leg disc, was studied in more detail. The enhancer detector in this strain is located near a similarly regulated gene at the spalt (sal) locus, which encodes a homeotic function involved in embryonic head and tail development. The expression of this newly discovered gene, spalt major (salm) is strongly repressed in gain-of-function mutants that express Antp in the antennal disc. Recessive loss-of-function mutations (Antp-) have the opposite developmental effect; they cause the differentiation of antennal structures in the second leg disc. Accordingly, salm is derepressed in clones of homozygous Antp- cells. Therefore, we conclude that Antp negatively regulates salm. The time course of the interaction and reporter gene fusion experiments suggests (but does not prove) a direct interaction between Antp and cis-regulatory elements of salm. Our analysis of several enhancer-detector strains suggests that the basic patterning information in the antennal and leg imaginal discs is very similar.

Alleles↗

Steady-state transposon mutagenesis in inbred maize.

We implement a novel strategy for harnessing the power of high-copy transposons for functional analysis of the maize genome, and report behavioral features of the Mutator system in a uniform inbred background. The unique UniformMu population and database facilitate high-throughput molecular analysis of Mu-tagged mutants and gene knockouts. Key features of the population include: (i) high mutation frequencies (7% independent seed mutations) and moderation of copy number (approximately 57 total Mu elements; 1-2 MuDR copies per plant) were maintained by continuous back-crossing into a phenotypically uniform inbred background; (ii) a bz1-mum9 marker enabled selection of stable lines (loss of MuDR), inhibiting further transpositions in lines selected for molecular analysis; (iii) build-up of mutation load was prevented by screening Mu-active parents to exclude plants carrying pre-existing seed mutations. To create a database of genomic sequences flanking Mu insertions, selected mutant lines were analyzed by sequencing of MuTAIL PCR clone libraries. These sequences were annotated and clustered to facilitate bioinformatic subtraction of ancestral elements and identification of insertions unique to mutant lines. New insertions targeted low-copy, gene-rich sequences, and in silico mapping revealed a random distribution of insertions over the genome. Our results indicate that Mu populations differ markedly in the occurrence of Mu insertion hotspots and the frequency of suppressible mutations. We suggest that controlled MuDR copy number in UniformMu lines is a key determinant of these differences. The public database (http://uniformmu.org; http://endosperm.info) includes pedigree and phenotypic data for over 2000 independent seed mutants selected from a population of 31 548 F2 lines and integrated with analyses of 34 255 MuTAIL sequences.

Breeding↗

Identification and characterization of IS1296 in Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC and presence in related mycoplasmas.

IS1296, a new insertion sequence belonging to the IS3 family of insertion elements has been identified in Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides (Mmm) biotype small colony (SC), the agent of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP). IS1296 is 1485-bp long and has 30-bp inverted repeats. It contains two open reading frames, ORFA and ORFB, which show significant similarities to the ORFs which encode the transposase function of IS elements of the IS3 family, in particular IS150 of Escherichia coli. IS1296 is present in 19 copies in Mmm SC-type strain PG1 and in 18 copies in a recently isolated field strain L2. It seems to transpose at low frequency in Mmm SC. IS1296 is also present in 5 copies in Mmm biotype large colony (LC)-type strain Y-goat, and in two copies in Mycoplasma sp. 'bovine group 7' reference strain PG50. It is, however, not present in other species of the 'mycoides cluster' or other closely related Mycoplasma sp. of ruminants.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Characterization and distribution of IS8301 in the radioresistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans.

The insertion sequence element IS8301 isolated from the radiation resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans strain KD8301 was characterized. IS8301 is comprised of 1,736-bp, lacks terminal inverted repeats and does not duplicate target DNA upon its insertion. The amino acid sequence homology of two open reading frames encoded in IS8301 indicates that this insertion sequence element belongs to the IS200/IS605 group. There were seven loci completely identical with the IS8301 sequence in the published D. radiodurans R(1) genome sequence. The genome distribution profiles of IS8301 in strain KD8301 as well as in the three different laboratory isolates (KR(1), MR(1), and R(1)) of wild-type D. radiodurans were investigated using genomic hybridization analysis. At least 21 strong hybridization signals were detected in strain KD8301 while only one hybridization signal was detected in strain KR(1), the parent strain of KD8301. In strain MR1, a different wild-type isolate, six strong hybridization signals were detected. In spite of the identification of seven copies of IS8301 in the published D. radiodurans R(1) genome sequence, only one hybridization signal was detected in strain R(1) purchased from American Type Culture Collection. Using inverse PCR and sequencing analyses, total 13 different insertion loci of IS8301 in the D. radiodurans genome were identified. Sequence comparison of the flanking region of insertion sites indicated that the sequence 5'-TTGAT-3' preceded the left end of IS8301 in all cases.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates by spoligotyping and IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from 167 patients attending three London hospitals were analyzed by two techniques for strain differentiation. A significant number of isolates that appeared identical with the recently developed spoligotyping system could be distinguished from each other by IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, with the latter technique demonstrating a generally higher level of discrimination. Spoligotyping, on the other hand, was particularly useful for analysis of isolates with low IS6110 copy numbers, and use of the two techniques in tandem provided an optimal approach to the identification of clusters with epidemiological evidence consistent with recent transmission. Spoligotyping can be applied directly to clinical samples by PCR and provides an important tool for the rapid detection of nosocomial transmission of individual strains.

Adolescent↗

TE-based mutagenesis systems in plants: a gene family approach.

Insertions in specific genes belonging to large and homogeneous gene families often do not cause a visible phenotype due to genetic redundancy. Therefore, several single-insertion mutants may have to be combined into double or even triple mutants in order to obtain a loss-of-function phenotype. It is therefore most useful to shift from single-gene insertion selection toward selection at the gene family level. Here, we present an alternative screening methodology that is highly suited for the functional analysis of gene families. Labeled primers designed from conserved regions present in the gene family and a transposon derived primer are combined in an optimized polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to screen a three-dimensionally pooled insertion library in a single step. PCR products are sized by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), and putative insertion fragments are isolated from the gel, reamplified, and sequenced directly. Because the identification of insertions is sequence-based, insertions into highly homologous genes can easily be distinguished. Taking advantage of the presence of conserved domains in gene families, this approach allows simultaneous screening for insertion events in different family members, and it has the additional advantage of identifying yet unknown family members through their corresponding insertion mutant.

DNA Transposable Elements↗

The construction of cDNA libraries from human single preimplantation embryos and their use in the study of gene expression during development.

PURPOSE: The construction and application of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based cDNA libraries from unfertilized human oocytes and single preimplantation-stage embryos are described. The purpose of these studies is to provide a readily available resource for the study of gene expression during human preimplantation development. METHODS: Rapid, reproducible, and efficient procedures for the construction of PCR-based cDNA libraries from fewer than 10 cells were first developed in small populations of fibroblast cells. We then constructed cDNA libraries from eight unfertilized oocytes and single two-cell, -4-cell, -7-cell, and blastocyst-stage embryos. Differential display PCR using the libraries as template allows the analysis of stage-specific expression of embryonic genes. Genomic libraries are also prepared from parental samples (cumulus cells and sperm) corresponding to the individual embryo generating the cDNA library. RESULTS: The complexities (between 10(5) and 10(6) clones) of the human embryo libraries indicate that they may represent the entire active gene population at these early stages of human development. Nucleotide sequence analyses of random clones showed the presence of a variety of transcripts, such as the human transposable element. LINE-1, Alu repeat sequences, housekeeping genes, and tissue-specific genes, (e.g., alpha-globin, FMR-1, and interleukin-10). Also present at the expected frequency are the ubiquitous cytoskeletal elements, beta-actin, keratin-18, and alpha-tubulin. In addition to cDNAs corresponding to known expressed sequence tags (ESTs) in the GenBank and dbEST databases, a high proportion of novel sequences was also detected. Several cDNAs were detected only at specific stages of preimplantation development by the differential display analysis. CONCLUSIONS: PCR-based cDNA libraries from single human preimplantation embryos provide a new and important resource for the identification and study of novel genes or gene families. As such, they will increase our basic understanding of the molecular control of human development. In the clinical context, the libraries identify the time of onset of specific genes, and hence the diseases resulting from mutation of these genes, and provide information about new methods of preimplantation diagnosis. The molecular analysis of early gene transcription in human embryogenesis may be expected to lead to advances in contraception, assisted reproduction, and preimplantation genetic diagnosis.

Blastocyst↗

Transposition protein of Tn3: identification and characterisation of an essential repressor-controlled gene product.

Fusions that bring lac gene expression under the control of transcriptional and translational signals within the Tn3 element have been used to identify and characterise a Tn3-encoded 'transposase' (Tnp) peptide of MW 100,000 essential for transposition. The gene specifying this product is regulated by the Tn3 repressor protein and is part of a bidirectional genetic unit that includes the repressor gene.

Bacterial Proteins↗

Plant tagnology.

Transposable elements have been used as an effective mutagen and as a tool to clone tagged genes. Insertion of a transposable element into a gene can lead to loss- or gain-of-function, changes in expression pattern, or can have no effect on gene function at all, depending on whether the insertion took place in coding or non-coding regions of the gene. Cloning transposable elements from different plant species has made them available as a tool for the isolation of tagged genes using homologous or heterologous tagging strategies. Based on these transposons, new elements have been engineered bearing reporter genes that can be used for expression analysis of the tagged gene, or resistance genes that can be used to select for knockout insertions. While many genes have been cloned using transposon tagging following traditional forward genetics strategies, gene cloning has ceased to be the rate-limiting step in the process of determining sequence-function relations in several important plant model species. Large-scale insertion mutagenesis and identification of insertion sites following a reverse genetics strategy appears to be the best method for unravelling the biological role of the thousands of genes with unknown functions identified by genome or expressed sequence tag (EST) sequencing projects. Here we review the progress in forward tagging technologies and discuss reverse genetics strategies and their applications in different model species.

Journal Article↗

P-element insertion alleles of essential genes on the third chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster: mutations affecting embryonic PNS development.

To identify novel genes and to isolate tagged mutations in known genes that are required for the development of the peripheral nervous system (PNS), we have screened a novel collection of 2460 strains carrying lethal or semilethal P element insertions on the third chromosome. Monoclonal antibody 22C10 was used as a marker to visualize the embryonic PNS. We identified 109 mutant strains that exhibited reproducible phenotypes in the PNS. Cytological and genetic analyses of these strains indicated that 87 mutations affect previously identified genes: tramtrack (n = 18 alleles), string (n = 15), cyclin A (n = 13), single-minded (n = 13), Delta (n = 9), neuralized (n = 4), pointed (n = 4), extra macrochaetae (n = 4), prospero (n = 3), tartan (n = 2), and pebble (n = 2). In addition, 13 mutations affect genes that we identified recently in a chemical mutagenesis screen designed to isolate similar mutants: hearty (n = 3), dorsotonals (n = 2), pavarotti (n = 2), sanpodo (n = 2), dalmatian (n = 1), missensed (n = 1), senseless (n = 1), and sticky ch1 (n = 1). The remaining nine mutations define seven novel complementation groups. The data presented here demonstrate that this collection of P elements will be useful for the identification and cloning of novel genes on the third chromosome, since >70% of mutations identified in the screen are caused by the insertion of a P element. A comparison between this screen and a chemical mutagenesis screen undertaken earlier highlights the complementarity of the two types of genetic screens.

Alleles↗

The institute for genomic research Osa1 rice genome annotation database.

We have developed a rice (Oryza sativa) genome annotation database (Osa1) that provides structural and functional annotation for this emerging model species. Using the sequence of O. sativa subsp. japonica cv Nipponbare from the International Rice Genome Sequencing Project, pseudomolecules, or virtual contigs, of the 12 rice chromosomes were constructed. Our most recent release, version 3, represents our third build of the pseudomolecules and is composed of 98% finished sequence. Genes were identified using a series of computational methods developed for Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) that were modified for use with the rice genome. In release 3 of our annotation, we identified 57,915 genes, of which 14,196 are related to transposable elements. Of these 43,719 non-transposable element-related genes, 18,545 (42.4%) were annotated with a putative function, 5,777 (13.2%) were annotated as encoding an expressed protein with no known function, and the remaining 19,397 (44.4%) were annotated as encoding a hypothetical protein. Multiple splice forms (5,873) were detected for 2,538 genes, resulting in a total of 61,250 gene models in the rice genome. We incorporated experimental evidence into 18,252 gene models to improve the quality of the structural annotation. A series of functional data types has been annotated for the rice genome that includes alignment with genetic markers, assignment of gene ontologies, identification of flanking sequence tags, alignment with homologs from related species, and syntenic mapping with other cereal species. All structural and functional annotation data are available through interactive search and display windows as well as through download of flat files. To integrate the data with other genome projects, the annotation data are available through a Distributed Annotation System and a Genome Browser. All data can be obtained through the project Web pages at http://rice.tigr.org.

Computational Biology↗

Identification of transposon-like elements in non-coding regions of tomato ACC oxidase genes.

1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) oxidase, which catalyses the terminal step in ethylene biosynthesis, is encoded by a small multigene family in tomato that is differentially expressed in response to developmental and environmental cues. In this study we report the isolation and sequencing of approximately 2 kb of 5'-flanking sequence of three tomato ACC oxidase genes (LEACO1, LEACO2, LEACO3) and the occurrence of class I and class II mobile element-like insertions in promoter and intron regions of two of them. The LEA CO1 upstream region contains a 420-bp direct repeat which is present in multiple copies in the tomato genome and is very similar to sequences in the promoters of the tomato E4 and 2A11 genes. The region covering the repeats resembles the remnant of a retrotransposon. Two copies of a small transposable element, belonging to the Stowaway inverted repeat element family, have been found in the 5'-flanking sequence and the third intron of LEACO3.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

Transposition in Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus: identification of two thermosensitive replicons and two functional insertion sequences.

In this report, it is shown that the rolling circle replicon pG(+)host and the theta replicon pIP501 are thermosensitive in Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (Lactobacillus bulgaricus). Using a pIP501 derivative as a delivery vector for six insertion sequences originating from lactic acid bacteria, it is shown that IS1223 and IS1201 transpose in L. bulgaricus.

Base Sequence↗

Identification of a DNA sequence associated with plasmid integration in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2).

We identified a DNA element of length about 1 kb that is present in two copies in the chromosome of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) and is also present on the plasmid SCP1 which has been carefully defined genetically, but never isolated as extrachromosomal DNA. A copy of the element is close (within 5 kb) of a gene coding for an extracellular agarase in the chromosome of S. coelicolor A3(2) and in an NF strain, in which SCP1 has integrated into the chromosome, the agarase gene has been deleted. The element has properties reminiscent of Insertion Sequences in Escherichia coli, but it is not yet know if it can transpose.

DNA Restriction Enzymes↗