Evidence in a nematode for regulation of transposon excision by tissue-specific factors

Scott W. Emmons, Susan Roberts, Ke san Ruan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

The transposable element Tc1 in Caenorhabditis elegans undergoes an excision reaction, which can be detected in a Southern hybridization as the appearance of empty chromosomal insertion sites. This excision reaction is under tissue-specific regulation in that it occurs at much higher frequency in somatic cells than in the germ line. We show here that this regulation is likely to be due to the action of tissue-specific factors that either promote excision in somatic tissues or repress it in the germ line. The rate of excision of elements at five distinct chromosomal sites has been measured by a method that avoids ambiguities due to cell division. All these elements are found to undergo excision at closely similar rates during the L1 larval stage. No distinct difference exists among the elements at different sites that would suggest regulation by flanking sequences.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)410-415
Number of pages6
JournalMGG Molecular & General Genetics
Volume202
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1986

Keywords

  • Eukaryote
  • Excision
  • Nematode
  • Regulation
  • Transposon

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Genetics

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