title: Isolation from the horse genome of a new DNA transposon belonging to the Tigger family.
abstract: Tigger elements are human DNA transposons homologous to the pogo element of Drosophila melanogaster. They contain an open reading frame for a transposase very similar to the major mammalian centromere protein CENP-B. We found in the horse genome a DNA element ( Ecatig3) sharing 88% homology with human Tigger3. The presence of Tigger elements in the horse genome confirms previous data that date these elements before the divergence between Perissodactyla and Primates (80-90 Myr ago). Copy number evaluation indicates that the horse element is much more abundant than its human counterpart. Southern blot analysis demonstrates that Ecatig3 elements are extremely homogeneous; this may indicate that the evolution of this DNA transposon has been driven by some kind of selection and has not been neutral.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Microbiology A. Buzzati Traverso, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paulis
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moralli
authors.forename: Mirella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bensi
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Carli
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Raimondi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000378:metabolism; D018628:Gene Dosage; D016678:Genome; D006736:Horses / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004247:DNA