Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Shimoda, Shizuoka 415-0025, Japan.
Dev Dyn. 2010 Apr;239(4):1076-88. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.22254.
Transgenesis with transposons is an important technique for studying genetic functions. In the ascidian Ciona intestinalis, methods for germline transformation with the Tc1/mariner transposon Minos have been established. A system to remobilize a single Minos copy in the genome is needed to refine this transgenic technique. In this study, such an experimental system was established with a transgenic line expressing Minos transposase in eggs. In the eggs of a double transgenic animal from a cross between the egg transposase line and a transgenic line having a single Minos insertion, the transposon was transposed into new positions of the Ciona genome, thus creating new insertions. Some of the new insertions caused enhancer detection. The majority of the new insertion sites were mapped on different chromosomes from that of the transposon donor. This characteristic of Minos is in contrast to that of the Sleeping Beauty transposon, which causes frequent intrachromosomal transposition.
转座子转基因是研究基因功能的重要技术。在海鞘 Ciona intestinalis 中，已经建立了用 Tc1/mariner 转座子 Minos 进行生殖系转化的方法。需要一种重新激活基因组中单拷贝 Minos 的系统来完善这种转基因技术。在这项研究中，建立了一个在卵中表达 Minos 转座酶的转基因系的实验系统。在来自卵转座酶系和具有单个 Minos 插入的转基因系杂交的双转基因动物的卵中，转座子被转座到海鞘基因组的新位置，从而产生新的插入。一些新的插入导致增强子检测。大多数新插入位点与供体转座子的染色体不同。Minos 的这一特征与 Sleeping Beauty 转座子相反，后者导致频繁的染色体内转座。
