title: The copia retrotransposon and horizontal transfer in Drosophila willistoni.
abstract: The copia element is a retrotransposon that is hypothesized to have been horizontally transferred from Drosophila melanogaster to some populations of Drosophila willistoni in Florida. Here we have used PCR and Southern blots to screen for sequences similar to copia element in South American populations of D. willistoni, as well as in strains previously shown to be carriers of the element. We have not found the canonical copia element in any of these populations. Unlike the P element, which invaded the D. melanogaster genome from D. willistoni and quickly spread worldwide, the canonical copia element appears to have transferred in the opposite direction and has not spread. This may be explained by differences in the requirements for transposition and in the host control of transposition.
authors: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors: P M
authors: PM
authors: Rubin
authors: Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors: E L S
authors: EL
authors: Loreto
authors: Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors: C M A
authors: CM
authors: Carareto
authors: Departamento de Genética, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors: V L S
authors: VL
authors: Valente
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D004330:Drosophila / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D018626:Retroelements / Q000235:genetics*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D018626:Retroelements