High genetic instability of heterochromatin after transposition of the LINE-like I factor in Drosophila melanogaster

In the present work, we have asked whether a group of 13 essential genes mapping to the heterochromatin of Drosophila melanogaster chromosome 2 are mutable following transposition of the I factor during I-R hybrid dysgenesis. We found that the frequency of lethal events mapping to chromosome 2 heter...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1997-07, Vol.94 (15), p.8052-8057
Main Authors: Dimitri, P. (Universita di Roma, Rome, Italy.), Arca, B, Berghella, L, Mei, E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alleles
Animals
AUTOSOMES
Biological Sciences
CHROMOSOME
Chromosome Mapping
CHROMOSOMES
CROMOSOMAS
DNA
DNA Transposable Elements
Drosophila
DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER
Drosophila melanogaster - genetics
DYSGENESIS
Exons
GENE
GENES
Genes, Lethal
Genetic loci
Genetic mutation
Genetic transposition
Gonadal Dysgenesis - genetics
HETEROCHROMATIC MUTATIONS
HETEROCHROMATIN
Heterochromatin - genetics
HETEROCHROMATINE
HETEROCROMATINA
INSERTIONS
MUTACION
MUTATION
REARRANGEMENTS
RECOMBINACION
RECOMBINAISON
RECOMBINATION
Recombination, Genetic
SEX DIFFERENTIATION DISORDERS
TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENTS
TRASTORNOS DE DIFERENCIACION SEXUAL
TROUBLE DE DIFFERENCIATION SEXUELLE
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the present work, we have asked whether a group of 13 essential genes mapping to the heterochromatin of Drosophila melanogaster chromosome 2 are mutable following transposition of the I factor during I-R hybrid dysgenesis. We found that the frequency of lethal events mapping to chromosome 2 heterochromatin is surprisingly high, despite the low density of genetic functions identified in this region compared with euchromatin. Cytogenetic and molecular analyses indicated that the recovered mutations correspond either to insertions or to rearrangements. Moreover, chromosomes bearing specific heterochromatic lethal mutations were generated by recombination in the heterochromatin. Together, these data indicate that I factors transpose with high frequency into pericentric regions of chromosome 2 and may play a role in the evolution of constitutive heterochromatin.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.94.15.8052