[The unusual mobile element Penelope and its behavior in distant Drosophila species].
The retroelement Penelope isolated from Drosophila virilis has a very unusual structure and codes for reverse transcriptase and an endonuclease belonging to the UvrC type. As shown previously, Penelope is a key element in induction of the hybrid dysgenesis syndrome described in D. virilis, which also involves mobilization of several unrelated mobile element families. Here we report a successful introduction of Penelope into the D. melanogaster genome by P element-mediated transformation. In the new host genome, Penelope is actively transcribed producing major transcript which coincides with that detected in dysgenic hybrids of D. virilis. In situ hybridization on D. melanogaster polytene chromosomes and Southern blotting revealed multiple transpositions of Penelope in the transformed D. melanogaster strains. We determined the structure of six Penelope copies inserted into D. melanogaster chromosomes. Some transformed D. melanogaster strains showed dysgenesis effects similar to those observed in hybrids from D. virilis dysgenic crosses.
Zelentsova
E S
ES
Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991 Russia.
Piatkov
K I
KI
Shostak
N G
NG
Lezin
G T
GT
Melekhin
M Iu
MIu
Kidwell
M G
MG
Evgen'ev
M B
MB
D000818:Animals; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002678:Chimera; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D016678:Genome; D006059:Gonadal Dysgenesis; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D009928:Organ Specificity; D018626:Retroelements; D013045:Species Specificity; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014170:Transformation, Genetic
D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D018626:Retroelements