hAT element population genetics in Anopheles gambiae s.l. in Mozambique.
Herves is a functional Class II transposable element in Anopheles gambiae belonging to the hAT superfamily of elements. Class II transposable elements are used as gene vectors in this species and are also being considered as genetic drive agents for spreading desirable genes through natural populations as part of an effort to control malaria transmission. In this study, Herves was investigated in populations of Anopheles gambiae s.s., Anopheles arabiensis and Anopheles merus in Mozambique over a period of 2 years. The copy number of Herves within these three species was approximately 5 copies per diploid genome and did not differ among species or between years. Based on the insertion-site occupancy-frequency distribution and existing models of transposable element dynamics, Herves appears to be transpositionally active currently or, at least recently, in all species tested. Ninety-five percent of the individuals within the populations of the three species tested contained intact elements with complete Herves transposase genes and this is consistent with the idea that these elements are currently active.
O'Brochta
David A
DA
Center for Biosystems Research, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Building 036/Room 5115, College Park, MD 20742, USA. obrochta@umbi.umd.edu
Subramanian
Ramanand A
RA
Orsetti
Jamison
J
Peckham
Edward
E
Nolan
Nicole
N
Arensburger
Peter
P
Atkinson
Peter W
PW
Charlwood
Derek J
DJ
D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D005260:Female; D018628:Gene Dosage; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005828:Genetics, Population; D049750:Genome, Insect; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009073:Mozambique; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
D004251:DNA Transposable Elements