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Movement of yeast transposable elements by gene conversion.

We have constructed yeast strains in which Ty (transposon yeast) elements at the HIS4 locus are genetically marked with the yeast URA3 gene. By isolating and analyzing Ura- derivatives of these strains, we have detected a variety of Ty-mediated recombination events. In this paper, we describe events in which the DNA sequence of the Ty element at the HIS4 locus is replaced by the DNA sequence of a different Ty element. These replacements occur without alterations in the flanking DNA sequence and without chromosomal aberrations. We believe that these events result from gene conversion between the Ty element at HIS4 and a Ty element at a different site in the yeast genome. Gene conversion can occur between Ty elements that differ by large insertion and substitution mutations. These recombination events result not only in the movement of Ty sequences but also in alterations in expression of the adjacent HIS4 gene. Different Ty elements at the same site in the HIS4 regulatory region can result in His-, His+, and cold-sensitive His+ phenotypes. Several Ty elements render expression of the HIS4 gene subject to control by genes at the mating type locus.

DNA Restriction Enzymes↗

RNA from the yeast transposable element Ty1 has both ends in the direct repeats, a structure similar to retrovirus RNA.

The RNA homologous to the yeast transposable element Ty1 is one of the more abundant poly(A)+ RNAs in many strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The 5' and 3' ends of Ty1 RNA have been determined from analysis of cDNA. The 5' end is 245 bases into the left delta sequence measured from the left side of the Ty1 element. The delta sequence is a direct repeat of about 340 base pairs present at each end of the Ty1 element. The Ty1 transcription includes 93-97 bases of the left delta sequence and continues through the entire internal portion of the element and through about 295 bases of the right delta sequence before reaching the 3' end located 38-46 bases from the right side of the right delta sequence. Because the delta sequences present at each end of a single Ty1 element have identical or very similar DNA sequences, these end points for Ty1 RNA raise several questions about the expression of Ty1 elements. First, what are the initiation and termination signals, because the Ty1 transcript must read through a DNA sequence that is identical to the 3' end at about 50 bases from the 5' end? Second, why is the direction of transcription of the Ty1 element opposite to that of genes that are overexpressed after the insertion of a Ty1 element? Third, because the Ty1 RNA itself has direct repeats of about 45 bases, a structure analogous to retrovirus RNAs, is the Ty1 RNA an intermediate in the transposition of Ty1?

Base Sequence↗

Mobile inverted-repeat elements of the Tourist family are associated with the genes of many cereal grasses.

Tourist was originally described as a 128-bp insertion mutation in the maize wx-B2 allele. Subsequent analysis revealed that Tourist elements are in the introns or flanking sequences of 11 maize genes and a single barley gene. In this study we report that Tourist elements are frequently associated with the wild-type genes of two other grasses, rice and sorghum. Six of 35 rice and 5 of 8 sorghum complete gene sequences reported to date contain Tourist elements. Furthermore, 11 additional maize genes have been found to contain Tourist elements, bringing the current total of elements associated with maize genes to 23. Sequence comparison of Tourist elements has led to the identification of four subfamilies, designated A-D. Evidence is presented for the recent mobility of elements in three of these subfamilies and in three of the four grass species. These data suggest that Tourist elements are highly repetitive in the genomes of some and perhaps all members of the grasses.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗

Identification and characterization of putative transposable DNA elements in solanaceous plants and Caenorhabditis elegans.

Several families of putative transposable elements (TrEs) in both solanaceous plants and Caenorhabditis elegans have been identified by screening the DNA data base for inverted repeated domains present in multiple copies in the genome. The elements are localized within intron and flanking regions of many genes. These elements consist of two inverted repeats flanking sequences ranging from 5 bp to > 500 bp. Identification of multiple elements in which sequence conservation includes both the flanking and internal regions implies that these TrEs are capable of duplicative transposition. Two of the elements were identified in promoter regions of the tomato (Lycoperiscon esculentum) polygalacturonase and potato (Solanum tuberosum) Win1 genes. The element in the polygalacturonase promoter spans a known regulatory region. In both cases, ancestral DNA sequences, which represent potential recombination target sequences prior to insertion of the elements, have been cloned from related species. The sequences of the inverted repeated domains in plants and C. elegans show a high degree of phylogenetic conservation. While frequency of the different elements is variable, some are present in very high copy number. A member of a single C. elegans TrE family is observed approximately once every 20 kb in the genome. The abundance of the described TrEs suggests utility in the genomic analysis of these and related organisms.

Animals↗

Recent, extensive, and preferential insertion of members of the miniature inverted-repeat transposable element family Heartbreaker into genic regions of maize.

A 314-bp DNA element called Heartbreaker-hm1 (Hbr-hm1) was previously identified in the 3' untranslated region of a mutant allele of the maize disease resistance gene HM1. This element has structural features of miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs) and is a member of a large family of approximately 4,000 copies in the maize genome. Unlike previously described MITEs, most members of the Hbr family display over 90% sequence identity. This, coupled with the insertion of an Hbr element into an allele of the HM1 gene, suggested that this family might have spread recently throughout the genome. Consistent with this view is the finding that Hbr insertion sites are remarkably polymorphic. Ten of ten loci containing Hbr elements were found to be polymorphic for the presence or absence of Hbr among a collection of maize inbred lines and teosinte strains. Despite the fact that over 80% of the maize genome contain moderate to highly repetitive DNA, we find that randomly chosen Hbr elements are predominantly in single or low copy regions. Furthermore, when used to query both the public and private databases of plant genes, over 50% of the sequences flanking these Hbr elements resulted in significant "hits." Taken together, these data indicate that the presence or absence of Hbr elements is a significant contributory factor to the high level of polymorphism associated with maize genic regions.

Base Sequence↗

US Food and Drug Administration's Total Diet Study: intake of nutritional and toxic elements, 1991-96.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has conducted the Total Diet Stuty (TDS) annually since 1961. The TDS is designed to monitor the US food supply for levels of toxic chemical contaminants (pesticide residues, industrial chemicals and toxic elements) and nutritional elements. Foods are generally collected four times a year, once from each of four regions of the country. The foods are prepared table-ready before being analysed. From the results of the TDS, dietary, intakes of these analytes are estimated for selected age-sex groups in the US population. This paper reports on the dietary intake of 10 nutritional and four toxic elements based on measurements made in foods collected in the TDS between 1991 and late 1996. Average daily intakes were estimated for 14 age-sex groups in the US population, as well as the contribution of specific food groups to total intakes. For most nutritional elements, teenage boys and adult males had the highest daily intakes. Intakes by infants were below the intake references for seven of 10 nutritional elements, and young girls and women had inadequate intakes of at least half the nutritional elements. Intakes by children between 2 and 10 years of age, teenage boys, and adult males met or exceeded the reference intakes for the majority of nutritional elements. Intakes by all population groups were well below the reference intakes for all toxic elements.

Adolescent↗

Glucose mediates transcriptional repression of the human angiotensin type-1 receptor gene: role for a novel cis-acting element.

Human angiotensin type 1 receptor (hAT1R) gene is regulated by hormones, second messengers, and both pathophysiological and developmental states. The focus of the present study was to determine the role of glucose in the trans-repression of hAT1R gene transcription and to identify the functional cis-acting response element(s). Serial deletions of the hAT1R promoter region indicated that an area between -1717 and -1543 base pairs upstream of the 5' end of the cDNA sequence has a glucose responsive regulatory element (GluRE) to down-regulate the gene expression. Further analysis revealed a putative 29-bp (5'-AACTGATTTTTGTATATTGATCTTGTATT-3') repressor element located between -1582 and -1610 bp was necessary for transcriptional repression. Removal of this region from promoter construct abolished repression of the hAT1R gene transcription in human proximal tubule epithelial cells (hPTECs). Using mobility shift assays, we demonstrated DNA binding activity to the labeled repressor element in hPTEC nuclear extracts. Additional studies demonstrated increased DNA binding activity to the labeled repressor element in nuclear extracts treated with high glucose (25 mM). Southwestern analysis identified two GluRE binding proteins of 34 and 36 kDa in glucose-treated extracts. Glucose-induced activity of the repressor trans-acting factor(s) reached a maximum at 4 h, which correlated with decreased transcriptional activity of the hAT1R gene, suggesting that glucose can down-regulate the transcription of the hAT1R gene through the repressor element. Furthermore, insertion of the glucose response element into heterologous SV40 promoter (SV40) chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) vector showed orientation/distance-independent repression of SV40 promoter-mediated CAT activity in hPTECs. Our results show that the glucose response factor(s) acts as trans-acting factor(s) binding to the cis-acting repressor element in the hAT1R promoter, which may participate in the control of basal transcription as well as glucose-mediated transcriptional inhibition of the hAT1R gene.

Animals↗

Cis-regulatory element based targeted gene finding: genome-wide identification of abscisic acid- and abiotic stress-responsive genes in Arabidopsis thaliana.

MOTIVATION: A fundamental problem of computational genomics is identifying the genes that respond to certain endogenous cues and environmental stimuli. This problem can be referred to as targeted gene finding. Since gene regulation is mainly determined by the binding of transcription factors and cis-regulatory DNA sequences, most existing gene annotation methods, which exploit the conservation of open reading frames, are not effective in finding target genes. RESULTS: A viable approach to targeted gene finding is to exploit the cis-regulatory elements that are known to be responsible for the transcription of target genes. Given such cis-elements, putative target genes whose promoters contain the elements can be identified. As a case study, we apply the above approach to predict the genes in model plant Arabidopsis thaliana which are inducible by a phytohormone, abscisic acid (ABA), and abiotic stress, such as drought, cold and salinity. We first construct and analyze two ABA specific cis-elements, ABA-responsive element (ABRE) and its coupling element (CE), in A.thaliana, based on their conservation in rice and other cereal plants. We then use the ABRE-CE module to identify putative ABA-responsive genes in A.thaliana. Based on RT-PCR verification and the results from literature, this method has an accuracy rate of 67.5% for the top 40 predictions. The cis-element based targeted gene finding approach is expected to be widely applicable since a large number of cis-elements in many species are available.

Abscisic Acid↗

Trace element concentration in human brain. Activation analysis of cobalt, iron, rubidium, selenium, zinc, chromium, silver, cesium, antimony and scandium.

Up to 60 tissue samples were dissected from 13 human brains in defined regions and were analysed by means of neutron activation analysis for trace element concentration of cobalt, iron, rubidium, selesium, zinc, chromium, silver, cesium, antimony and scandium. It was shown that the variation in concentration of the non-essential elements in the different brain regions was greater than the corresponding variations in concentration of the essential elements. The mean values of Fe and Rb concentrations were higher in the basal ganglia than in the cortex areas. With increasing age the Fe concentration in the human brain was found to increase and that of Rb to decrease. Comparison of the trace element concentration in corresponding areas of the right and left hemispheres showed highly significant positive correlations for the essential elements. The concentration of each of the essential elements Fe, Rb and Zn was also found to differ significantly between defined functional regions. The characteristic distribution of essential trace elements in different areas is discussed in the light of known metabolic functions of these elements.

Adult↗

The influence of nonautonomous P elements on hybrid dysgenesis in Drosophila melanogaster.

An inbred line of the M' strain Muller-5 Birmingham was studied for its abilities to affect P-M hybrid dysgenesis. This strain possesses 57 P elements, all of which are apparently defective in the production of the P transposase. In combination with transposase-producing elements, these nonautonomous elements can enhance or diminish the incidence of hybrid dysgenesis, depending on the trait that is studied. Dysgenic flies that have one or more paternally-derived chromosomes with these elements partially repress the instability of the P element insertion mutation, snw; however, such flies have elevated frequencies of another dysgenic trait, GD sterility, and also show distorted segregation ratios. An explanation is presented in which all of these phenomena are unified as manifestations of the kinetics of P element activation in the germ line. The progeny of Muller-5 Birmingham females exhibit partial repression of both snw instability and GD sterility. This repression appears to involve a factor that can be transmitted maternally through at least two generations. This mode of repression therefore conforms to the pattern of inheritance of the P cytotype, the condition that brings about nearly total repression of P element activity in some strains. Models in which this repression could arise from the nonautonomous P elements of Muller-5 Birmingham are discussed.

Animals↗

A stable genomic source of P element transposase in Drosophila melanogaster.

A single P element insert in Drosophila melanogaster, called P[ry+ delta 2-3](99B), is described that caused mobilization of other elements at unusually high frequencies, yet is itself remarkably stable. Its transposase activity is higher than that of an entire P strain, but it rarely undergoes internal deletion, excision or transposition. This element was constructed by F. Laski, D. Rio and G. Rubin for other purposes, but we have found it to be useful for experiments involving P elements. We demonstrate that together with a chromosome bearing numerous nonautonomous elements it can be used for P element mutagenesis. It can also substitute efficiently for "helper" plasmids in P element mediated transformation, and can be used to move transformed elements around the genome.

Animals↗

Organization of the Tgm family of transposable elements in soybean.

We have compared the organization of six Tgm elements that were selected from a genomic library of soybean DNA on the basis of hybridization with subcloned regions of Tgm 1 (transposon, Glycine max) from the seed lectin gene. These elements ranged in size from 1.6 kbp to greater than 12 kbp. Tgm2, Tgm3, Tgm4 and Tgm5 represent partial isolates in which the genomic clone contained a 3' but not a 5' terminus of the element; while Tgm6 and Tgm7, like Tgm1, were small isolates flanked by both 5' and 3' nonelement sequences. Cross-hybridization studies between subcloned portions of these seven elements identified regions of homology which suggest that the Tgm transposable elements of soybean form a family of deletion derivatives. In addition to internal deletion events, numerous deletions and base substitutions are also present within the borders of these elements which are comprised of the same tandemly repeated sequence. The 39% amino acid homology between a 1 kb portion of an open reading frame in Tgm4 and Tgm5 and ORF1, an open frame from the first intron of the maize Enhancer (Suppressor-mutator) transposable element, suggests that both elements encode a common function that requires a high degree of protein conservation.

Base Sequence↗

Mobile element insertions causing mutations in the Drosophila suppressor of sable locus occur in DNase I hypersensitive subregions of 5'-transcribed nontranslated sequences.

The locations of 16 mobile element insertions causing mutations at the Drosophila suppressor of sable [su(s)] locus were determined by restriction mapping and DNA sequencing of the junction sites. The transposons causing the mutations are: P element (5 alleles), gypsy (3 alleles), 17.6, HMS Beagle, springer, Delta 88, prygun, Stalker, and a new mobile element which was named roamer (2 alleles). Four P element insertions occur in 5' nontranslated leader sequences, while the fifth P element and all 11 non-P elements inserted into the 2053 nucleotide, 5'-most intron that is spliced from the 5' nontranslated leader approximately 100 nucleotides upstream of the translation start. Fifteen of the 16 mobile elements inserted within a approximately 1900 nucleotide region that contains seven 100-200-nucleotide long DNase I-hypersensitive subregions that alternate with DNase I-resistant intervals of similar lengths. The locations of these 15 insertion sites correlate well with the roughly estimated locations of five of the DNase I-hypersensitive subregions. These findings suggest that the features of chromatin structure that accompany gene activation may also make the DNA susceptible to insertion of mobile elements.

Animals↗

Introduction of the transposable element mariner into the germline of Drosophila melanogaster.

A chimeric white gene (wpch) and other constructs containing the transposable element mariner from Drosophila mauritiana were introduced into the germline of Drosophila melanogaster using transformation mediated by the P element. In the absence of other mariner elements, the wpch allele is genetically stable in both germ cells and somatic cells, indicating that the peach element (i.e., the particular copy of mariner inserted in the wpch allele) is inactive. However, in the presence of the active element Mos1, the wpch allele reverts, owing to excision of the peach element, yielding eye-color mosaics and a high rate of germline reversion. In strains containing Mos1 virtually every fly is an eye-color mosaic, and the rate of wpch germline reversion ranges from 10 to 25%, depending on temperature. The overall rates of mariner excision and transposition are approximately sixfold greater than the rates in comparable strains of Drosophila simulans. The activity of the Mos1 element is markedly affected by position effects at the site of Mos1 insertion. In low level mosiac lines, dosage effects of Mos1 are apparent in the heavier level of eye-color mosaicism in Mos1 homozygotes than in heterozygotes. However, saturation occurs in high level mosaic lines, and then dosage effects are not observed. A pBluescribe M13+ plasmid containing Mos1 was injected into the pole plasm of D. melanogaster embryos, and the Mos1 element spontaneously integrated into the germline at high efficiency. These transformed strains of D. melanogaster presently contain numerous copies of mariner and may be useful in transposon tagging and other applications.

Alleles↗

The Ac and Uq transposable element systems in maize: interactions among components.

Components of the Uq and Ac transposable element systems interact. A large sample of Ds-containing and ruq-containing alleles were tested against Uq and Ac. The Uq elements elicit a mutable response from only one of the classes of Ds elements (Ds1) in the Ac family. This response is similar to the response from ruq to Uq. In contrast, Ac elicits mutable responses from all Ds and ruq elements tested. This represents a lack of reciprocity of interaction for the components of the two elements, Ac and Uq. Further, two atypical Ac and Uq elements (Ac2 and Uq-Mn) were examined. All ruq and Ds elements tested respond to four doses of Ac2. (Responses to lower doses were not compared.) Only the ruq (Ds1) containing alleles respond to Uq-Mn. The other Ds containing alleles were nonresponsive. The finding of nonreciprocating interaction between components suggests a heterogeneous nature for transposable element systems in maize.

Crosses, Genetic↗

Cytotype control of Drosophila melanogaster P element transposition: genomic position determines maternal repression.

P element transposition in Drosophila is controlled by the cytotype regulatory state: in P cytotype, transposition is repressed, whereas in M cytotype, transposition can occur. P cytotype is determined by a combination of maternally inherited factors and chromosomal P elements in the zygote. Transformant strains containing single elements that encoded the 66-kD P element protein zygotically repressed transposition, but did not display the maternal repression characteristic of P cytotype. Upon mobilization to new genomic positions, some of these repressor elements showed significant maternal repression of transposition in genetic assays, involving a true maternal effect. Thus, the genomic position of repressor elements can determine the maternal vs. zygotic inheritance of P cytotype. Immunoblotting experiments indicate that this genomic position effect does not operate solely by controlling the expression level of the 66-kD repressor protein during oogenesis. Likewise, P element derivatives containing the hsp26 maternal regulator sequence expressed high levels of the 66-kD protein during oogenesis, but showed no detectable maternal repression. These data suggest that the location of a repressor element in the genome may determine maternal inheritance of P cytotype by a mechanism involving more than the overall level of expression of the 66-kD protein in the ovary.

Animals↗

Protected P-element termini suggest a role for inverted-repeat-binding protein in transposase-induced gap repair in Drosophila melanogaster.

P-element transposition is thought to occur by a cut-and paste mechanism that generates a double-strand break at the donor site, the repair of which can lead to internally deleted elements. We have generated a series of both phenotypically stronger and weaker allelic derivatives of vg21, a vestigial mutant caused by a P-element insertion in the 5' region of the gene. Virtually all of the new alleles arose by internal deletion of the parental element in vg21, and we have characterized a number of these internally deleted P elements. Depending upon the selection scheme used, we see a very different spectrum of amount and source of P-element sequences in the resultant derivatives. Strikingly, most of the breakpoints occur within the inverted-repeats such that the last 15-17 bp of the termini are retained. This sequence is known to bind the inverted-repeat-binding protein (IRBP). We propose that the IRBP may act to preserve the P-element ends when transposition produces a double-strand gap. This allows the terminus to serve as a template upon which DNA synthesis can act to repair the gap. Filler sequences found at the breakpoints of the internally deleted P elements resemble short stretches, often in tandem arrays, of these terminal sequences. The structure of the filler sequences suggests replication slippage may occur during the process of gap repair.

Alleles↗

A P element containing suppressor of hairy-wing binding regions has novel properties for mutagenesis in Drosophila melanogaster.

P elements are widely used as insertional mutagens to tag genes, facilitating molecular cloning and analyses. We modified a P element so that it carried two copies of the suppressor of Hairy-wing [su(Hw)] binding regions isolated from the gypsy transposable element. This transposon was mobilized, and the genetic consequences of its insertion were analyzed. Gene expression can be altered by the su(Hw) protein as a result of blocking the interaction between enhancer/silencer elements and their promoter. These effects can occur over long distances and are general. Therefore, a composite transposon (SUPor-P for suppressor-P element) combines the mutagenic efficacy of the gypsy element with the controllable transposition of P elements. We show that, compared to standard P elements, this composite transposon causes an expanded repertoire of mutations and produces alleles that are suppressed by su(Hw) mutations. The large number of heterochromatic insertions obtained is unusual compared to other insertional mutagenesis procedures, indicating that the SUPor-P transposon may be useful for studying the structural and functional properties of heterochromatin.

Animals↗