Molecular characterization of spontaneous mutations at the scarlet locus of Drosophila melanogaster |
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| Authors: | J. F. M. Have M. M. Green A. J. Howells |
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| Affiliation: | (1) Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, Australian National University, 0200 Canberra, ACT, Australia;(2) Section of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, 95616 Davis, California, USA;(3) Present address: CS1RO Division of Wildlife and Ecology, PO Box 84, Lyneham, ACT, Australia |
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| Abstract: | Six spontaneous mutations of the scarlet (st) locus of Drosophila melanogaster have been studied at the molecular level. Two of the mutants (st1 and stsp) arose in laboratory populations, while the other four (stcob, stct89, stdct and stdv) were isolated from natural populations. In five of these there is a DNA insertion within the st region and in four cases the insertion has been identified as being a transposable element; these include the retrotransposons 412 and B104/roo, and also jockey a member of the LINE family. In the other case (stdct), the insertion appears to consist of partially duplicated st sequences. In two of the mutants (st1 and stdv) the same transposable element (412) has inserted in the same orientation at exactly the same site within the st gene. The transposable element insertions are found in intron and exon regions of the st gene and also in the putative upstream regulatory region; insertions located in introns or exons result in the production of truncated st transcripts. The results show that the same types of transposable elements that cause spontaneous mutation in laboratory stocks of D. melanogaster also cause mutation in the wild.Communicated by D. Finnegan |
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| Keywords: | Spontaneous mutation Transposable elements Drosophila melanogaster scarlet gene |
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