Letter to the editor
Evidence for Drosophila P element transposase activity in mammalian cells and yeast

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Abstract

Drosophila P element transposase expression is limited to the germline by tissue-specific splicing of one of its three introns. Removal of this intron by mutagenesis in vitro has allowed both P element excision and transposition to be detected in Drosophila somatic tissues. In order to determine if P element transposase can function in other organisms, we have expressed modified P elements either lacking one intron or lacking all three introns in mammalian cells and yeast, respectively. Using an assay for P element excision, we have detected apparent excision events in cultured monkey cells. Furthermore, expression of the complete P element cDNA is lethal to Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells carrying a mutation in the RAD52 gene, indicating that double-stranded DNA breaks are generated, presumably by transposase action.

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    This work was supported by grant GM33135 from the National Institutes of Health. D.C.R. is a Lucille P. Markey Scholar and this work was supported in part by a grant from the Lucille P. markey Charitable Trust.

    Present address: Whitehead Institute, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, U.S.A.

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