P transposable elements in Drosophila and other eukaryotic organisms

摘要: P transposable elements were discovered in Drosophila as the causative agents of a syndrome genetic traits called hybrid dysgenesis. Hybrid dysgenesis exhibits unique pattern maternal inheritance linked to germline-specific small RNA piwi-interacting (piRNA) pathway. The use vectors for gene transfer and tools revolutionized field molecular genetics. element transposons have served useful model investigate mechanisms cut-and-paste transposition eukaryotes. Biochemical studies revealed new unexpected insights into how eukaryotic DNA-based are mobilized. For example, transposase makes unusual 17nt-3′ extended double-strand DNA breaks at transposon termini uses guanosine triphosphate (GTP) cofactor promote synapsis two ends early N-terminal binding domain transposase, THAP domain, contains C2CH zinc-coordinating motif is founding member large family animal-specific site-specific proteins. Over past decade genome sequencing efforts presence element-like or transposase-like genes (called THAP9) many genomes, including vertebrates, such primates humans, zebrafish Xenopus, well human parasite Trichomonas vaginalis, sea squirt Ciona, urchin hydra. Surprisingly, transposase-related THAP9 cells, indicating that encode active “transposase”