P element excision in Drosophila is stimulated by gamma-irradiation in transient embryonic assays.
The influence of gamma-irradiation on P element excision and excision-site repair mechanisms was directly tested by embryonic somatic excision assays. Preblastoderm P[ry+, delta 2-3](99B) embryos, having a stable source of somatically active P transposase, were irradiated previous to injection with P excision indicator plasmids. Frequencies of precise or nearly precise P excision increased with gamma-ray doses ranging from 0.5 to 3.5 Gy. Higher doses resulted in frequencies close to that in unirradiated embryos, though considerable embryonic lethality was also evident at these doses. A direct positive interaction between gamma-irradiation and P element activity is concluded.
Handler
A M
AM
Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, US Department of Agriculture, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA. handler@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu
Gomez
S P
SP
D000818:Animals; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000528:radiation effects; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000528:radiation effects*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000528:radiation effects; D005720:Gamma Rays; D019895:Transposases / Q000378:metabolism
D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D019895:Transposases