A novel mechanism for P element homing in Drosophila.
P element insertion is essentially random at the scale of the genome. However, P elements containing regulatory sequences from Drosophila engrailed and polyhomeotic genes and from the Bithorax and Antennapedia complexes show some insertional specificity by frequently inserting near the parent gene (homing) and/or near genes containing Polycomb group response elements (preferential insertion). This phenomenon is thought to be mediated by Polycomb group proteins. In this report, we describe a case of homing of P elements containing regulatory sequences of the linotte gene. This homing occurs with high frequency (up to 20% of the lines) and high precision (inserted into a region of <1 kilobase). We present evidence showing that it is not mediated by Polycomb group proteins but by a new, as yet unknown, mechanism. We also suggest that P element homing could be a more frequent phenomenon than generally assumed and that it could become a powerful tool of Drosophila reverse genetics, for which there is no other described gene targeting technique.
Taillebourg
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Laboratoire d'Embryologie Moléculaire, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Unité de Recherche Associée 2227, Bâtiment 445, Université Paris Sud, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France.
Dura
J M
JM
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D015870:Gene Expression; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D018390:Gene Targeting; D017344:Genes, Insect; D016678:Genome; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011995:Recombination, Genetic
D004251:DNA Transposable Elements