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Heterologous transposition in Aspergillus nidulans
M G Li Destri Nicosia1, C Brocard-Masson, S Demais
1Institut de Génétique et Microbiologie, UMR CNRS No. 8621, Université Paris-Sud, Bâtiment 409, Centre d'Orsay, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France.
Molecular Microbiology
|March 17, 2001
Summary
Transposable elements like Fot1 and impala were shown to efficiently transpose in Aspergillus nidulans, a fungus where such events were previously undescribed. This research establishes a visual system for studying transposition in fungi.
Area of Science:
- Mycology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Aspergillus nidulans is a key model organism in ascomycete fungi research.
- Transposition events, the movement of DNA sequences within a genome, have not been previously documented in A. nidulans.
- While A. nidulans possesses Fot1-related elements, they do not appear to transpose efficiently using native mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential for transposition in Aspergillus nidulans.
- To establish a functional system for studying transposable elements in A. nidulans.
- To develop tools for gene tagging and functional genomics in fungi.
Main Methods:
- Investigated the transposition of Fot1 and impala elements from Fusarium oxysporum in A. nidulans.
- Developed a visual assay by tagging the impala element with the yA gene for conidiospore color detection.
- Assessed the activity of A. nidulans transposase in trans and mobilized the impala element using inducible promoters.
- Quantified excision frequency and analyzed integration patterns of the transposable elements.
Main Results:
- Fot1 and impala elements from F. oxysporum transpose efficiently in A. nidulans.
- A functional impala-yA system allows visual detection of transposition events.
- Endogenous A. nidulans transposase does not act in trans on defective impala, but its own transposase can mobilize the element.
- Excision frequency ranges from 10^-4 to 10^-5, with approximately 10% loss and 90% random integration.
- Hybrid dysgenesis was found to be absent in A. nidulans.
Conclusions:
- Transposable elements can be functionally introduced and studied in Aspergillus nidulans.
- The developed impala-yA system provides a powerful visual tool for transposition studies in fungi.
- This system facilitates research into the mechanisms of transposition and enables the development of gene-tagging tools for A. nidulans and other fungal species.