title: The Tol1 transposable element of the medaka fish moves in human and mouse cells.
abstract: DNA-based transposable elements can be used as tools for gene engineering and gene therapy. A great advantage over RNA-mediated elements and retroviruses is the simplicity and safety of usage. The Tol1 element of the medaka fish Oryzias latipes has structural features of DNA-based elements. Although its excision has already been demonstrated, de novo insertion has not been observed, and a transposase has not been hitherto identified. We first cloned, through in silico search alignments and genomic library screenings, a 4.4-kb Tol1 copy carrying open reading frames and then identified, by mRNA analysis, a 2.9-kb transcript coding for 851 amino acids. The protein product of this transcript catalyzed transposition of a nonautonomous Tol1 copy in human and mouse culture cells. This identification of a fully functional Tol1 transposase could lead to the development of new tools for basic and translational molecular biology applications in mammals.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, 464-8602, Japan. koga@bio.nagoya-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koga
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsuko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, 464-8602, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuroki
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, 464-8602, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 810-8560, Japan.
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kusumi
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Niigata University, Niigata, 950-2181, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoriko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kyono-Hamaguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Niigata University, Niigata, 950-2181, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hamaguchi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D009990:Oryzias / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012880:Skin Pigmentation / Q000235:genetics; D019895:Transposases / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D019895:Transposases