Hardeman K J, Chandler V L
Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene 97403.
Genetics. 1993 Dec;135(4):1141-50. doi: 10.1093/genetics/135.4.1141.
The Mutator transposable element system of maize has been used to isolate mutations at many different genes. Six different classes of Mu transposable elements have been identified. An important question is whether particular classes of Mu elements insert into different genes at equivalent frequencies. To begin to address this question, we used a small number of closely related Mutator plants to generate multiple independent mutations at two different genes. The overall mutation frequency was similar for the two genes. We then determined what types of Mu elements inserted into the genes. We found that each of the genes was preferentially targeted by a different class of Mu element, even when the two genes were mutated in the same plant. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed. These results have important implications for cloning Mu-tagged genes as other genes may also be resistant or susceptible to the insertion of particular classes of Mu elements.
玉米的Mutator转座元件系统已被用于分离许多不同基因的突变。已鉴定出六种不同类型的Mu转座元件。一个重要的问题是特定类型的Mu元件是否以相同的频率插入不同的基因。为了开始解决这个问题，我们使用了少数密切相关的Mutator植株在两个不同基因上产生多个独立的突变。这两个基因的总体突变频率相似。然后我们确定了插入这些基因的Mu元件类型。我们发现，即使这两个基因在同一植株中发生突变，每个基因都优先被不同类型的Mu元件靶向。文中讨论了这些发现的可能解释。这些结果对于克隆Mu标签基因具有重要意义，因为其他基因可能也对特定类型的Mu元件插入具有抗性或敏感性。
