Journal of Molecular Biology
Volume 382, Issue 3, 10 October 2008, Pages 567-572
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Communications
Transposition of Mboumar-9: Identification of a New Naturally Active mariner-Family Transposon

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmb.2008.07.044Get rights and content
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Abstract

Although mariner transposons are widespread in animal genomes, the vast majority harbor multiple inactivating mutations and only two naturally occurring elements are known to be active. Previously, we discovered a mariner-family transposon, Mboumar, in the satellite DNA of the ant Messor bouvieri. Several copies of the transposon contain a full-length open reading frame, including Mboumar-9, which has 64% nucleotide identity to Mos1 of Drosophila mauritiana. To determine whether Mboumar is currently active, we expressed and purified the Mboumar-9 transposase and demonstrate that it is able to catalyze the movement of a transposon from one plasmid to another in a genetic in vitro hop assay. The efficiency is comparable to that of the well-characterized mariner transposon Mos1. Transposon insertions were precise and were flanked by TA duplications, a hallmark of mariner transposition. Mboumar has been proposed to have a role in the evolution and maintenance of satellite DNA in M. bouvieri and its activity provides a means to examine the involvement of the transposon in the genome dynamics of this organism.

Abbreviations used

TIR
terminal inverted repeat
stDNA
satellite DNA
ORF
open reading frame
MITE
miniature inverted-repeat transposable element
MBP
maltose-binding protein

Keywords

mariner
transposon
satellite DNA
MITE
DNA recombination

Cited by (0)

M. M.-L. and A. S. contributed equally to this work.

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Present address: J. Bischerour, Laboratoire d'Etudes des Parasites Génétiques, Université François Rabelais, FRE CNRS 2969, UFR Sciences et Techniques, Parc Grandmont, 37200 Tours, France.