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Isolation and characterization of Pioneer1, a novel Chlamydomonas transposable element

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Abstract

During the course of this study a novel family of Chlamydomonas mobile elements has been identified in natural isolate strain 224. The first member of this class to be characterized, a 2.8-kb element named Pioneer1, was trapped in an intron of the nitrate reductase structural gene, NIT1. This element has been cloned and completely sequenced and found to be unusual in structure. Pioneer elements are present in a very low-copy number of three per genome in strain 224. The copy number increased by one upon transposition of Pioneer1. Hybridization of Pioneer1 to a variety of Chlamydomonas strains confirmed that this element differed from previously described Chlamydomonas transposons. It also indicated that related elements are present in low-copy number in natural isolate strains 356 and S1D2, but not in the most commonly used laboratory strains 137c and 21 gr. For these reasons, members of the Pioneer family might prove useful as insertional mutagens.

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Author notes

  1. Iennifer E. Graham & Jonathan G. Spanier

    Present address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Dakota School of Medicine, Box 9037, 58202, Grand Forks, ND, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, 4400 Fifth Avenue, 15213, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Iennifer E. Graham, Jonathan G. Spanier & Jonathan W. Jarvik

Authors
  1. Iennifer E. Graham
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  2. Jonathan G. Spanier
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  3. Jonathan W. Jarvik
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Communicated by K. P. Van Winkle-Swift

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Graham, I.E., Spanier, J.G. & Jarvik, J.W. Isolation and characterization of Pioneer1, a novel Chlamydomonas transposable element. Curr Genet 28, 429–436 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00310811

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00310811

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