Transposable elements P and gypsy in natural populations of Drosophila willistoni

• Main Authors: Adriana Koslovski Sassi, Fabiana Herédia, Élgion Lucio da Silva Loreto, Vera Lucia da Silva Valente, Claudia Rohde
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Genética 2005-12-01
• Series: Genetics and Molecular Biology
• Subjects: Drosophila willistoni; transposable element; P; gypsy
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1415-47572005000500013

The presence and integrity of the P transposon and the gypsy retrotransposon in the genome of 18 samples of natural Drosophila willistoni populations collected from a large area of South America were Southern blot screened using Drosophila melanogaster probes. The aim of this screening was provide further knowledge-base on the geographical distribution of D. willistoni and to carry out an inter-population analysis of the P and gypsy elements present in the genomes of the populations analyzed. The fragment patterns obtained indicate that both the P and gypsy elements are ancient in the D. willistoni genome, but whereas the gypsy retroelement appears to be invariable and stable the P element varies between populations and appears to still have some capacity for mobilization.