title: Isolation and characterization of Pioneer1, a novel Chlamydomonas transposable element.
abstract: During the course of this study a novel family of Chlamydomonas mobile elements has been identified in natural isolate strain 224. The first member of this class to be characterized, a 2.8-kb element named Pioneer1, was trapped in an intron of the nitrate reductase structural gene, NIT1. This element has been cloned and completely sequenced and found to be unusual in structure. Pioneer elements are present in a very low-copy number of three per genome in strain 224. The copy number increased by one upon transposition of Pioneer1. Hybridization of Pioneer1 to a variety of Chlamydomonas strains confirmed that this element differed from previously described Chlamydomonas transposons. It also indicated that related elements are present in low-copy number in natural isolate strains 356 and S1D2, but not in the most commonly used laboratory strains 137c and 21 gr. For these reasons, members of the Pioneer family might prove useful as insertional mutagens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Spanier
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Jarvik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002696:Chlamydomonas / Q000235:genetics*; D002875:Chromosomes; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005796:Genes; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D050901:Nitrate Reductase; D009565:Nitrate Reductases / Q000235:genetics; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D012326:RNA Splicing
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D009565:Nitrate Reductases; D050901:Nitrate Reductase