Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
The hopper hAT-family transposable element isolated from the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, is distantly related to both the Drosophila hobo element and the Activator element from maize. The original 3120?bp hopperBd-Kah element isolated from the Kahuku wild-type strain was highly degenerate and appeared to have a mutated transposase and terminal sequences, while a second 3131?bp element, hopperBd-we, isolated from a white eye mutant strain had an intact transposase reading frame and terminal sequences consistent with function. Results
The hopperBd-we element was tested for function by its ability to mediate germline transformation in two dipteran species other than B. dorsalis. This was achieved by creating a binary vector/helper transformation system by linking the hopperBd-we transposase reading frame to a D. melanogaster hsp70 promoter for a heat-inducible transposase helper plasmid, and creating vectors marked with the D. melanogaster mini-white+ or polyubiquitin-regulated DsRed fluorescent protein markers. Conclusions
Both vectors were successfully used to transform D. melanogaster, and the DsRed vector was also used to transform the Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa, indicating a wide range of hopper function in dipteran species and, potentially, non-dipteran species. This vector provides a new tool for insect genetic modification for both functional genomic analysis and the control of insect populations.
SUBMITTER: Handler A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7747358 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature