title: Targeted gene replacement in Drosophila via P element-induced gap repair.
abstract: Transposable elements of the P family in Drosophila are thought to transpose by a cut-and-paste process that leaves a double-strand gap. The repair of such gaps resulted in the transfer of up to several kilobase pairs of information from a homologous template sequence to the site of P element excision by a process similar to gene conversion. The template was an in vitro-modified sequence that was tested at various genomic positions. Characterization of 123 conversion tracts provided a detailed description of their length and distribution. Most events were continuous conversion tracts that overlapped the P insertion site without concomitant conversion of the template. The average conversion tract was 1379 base pairs, and the distribution of tract lengths fit a simple model of gap enlargement. The conversion events occurred at sufficiently high frequencies to form the basis of an efficient means of directed gene replacement.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Canada.
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Gloor
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Nassif
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Johnson-Schlitz
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Preston
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Engels
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004260:DNA Repair; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D005785:Gene Conversion; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D013698:Templates, Genetic; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes