The Hermes element from Musca domestica can transpose in four families of cyclorrhaphan flies

Transgenic insect technology will provide opportunities to explore the basic biology of a broad range of insect species in ways that will prove insightful and important. It is also a technology that will provide opportunities to manipulate the genotypes of insects of practical significance to the health and welfare of humans. TheHermes transposable element from the housefly,Musca domestica, is a short inverted repeat-type element related tohobo fromDrosophila melanogaster, Ac fromZea mays, andTam3 fromAntirrhinum majus. It has potential to become a versatile and efficient broad host-range insect transformation vector. The ability ofHermes to transpose when introduced into five species of diptera from four divergent families was tested using anin vivo, interplasmid transpositional recombination assay.Hermes was capable of transposing in all species tested, demonstrating thatHermes has a broad host-range. In addition, the rates of transposition were sufficiently high in all species tested to suggest thatHermes will be an efficient gene transfer vector in a wide range of insect species. TheHermes element also revealed a pattern of integration into the target substrate that permitted factors determining integration site selection to be identified. Primary nucleotide sequence of the integration site played a role as did proximity to preferred integration sites and the nucleosomal organization of the target.