Structural organization of transposable element mdg4 from Drosophila melanogasler and a nucleotide sequence of its long terminal repeats

• Published in: Nucleic acids research 1984-04, Vol.12 (8), p.3707-3723
• Main Authors: Bayev, A.A., Lyubomirskaya, N.V., Dzhumagaliev, E. B., Ananiev, E.V., Amiantova, I. G., Ilyin, Y.V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0305-1048; 1362-4962
• DOI: 10.1093/nar/12.8.3707

A mobile dispersed genetic element, mdg4,˜ 7.5 kilobases (kb) long has been cloned from D. melanogaster genoine. Chromosomal bands have only few sites of mdg4, but it always hybridizes to the chromocenter. The location of mdg4 varies among D. melanoster strains. Blot hybridization shows that, in contrast to other mdg elements, mdg4 sequences are rather heterogeneous. Only few copies are full-length. A strong amplification of mdg4 has occurred during the in vitro cultivation of cells involving only one mdg4 variant. Long terminal repeats (LTRs) and flanking sequences have been sequenced in two cloned copies of transposable element mdg4. In both cloned copies of mdg4 LTRs have an identical nucleotide sequence 479 bp long. The mdg4 is flanked by fourbase-pair direct repeats, short mismatched palindromes being present at the ends of each LTR. The termini of the mdg4 body contain an oligopurine stretch and a region partially complementary to D. melanogaster tRNATLys Thus, structural organization of mdg4 LTRs is similar to that of several other mdg elements and retroviral proviruses.