Medfly transposable elements: diversity, evolution, genomic impact and possible applications
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Updated: Aug 27, 2026

Delivery of Nucleic Acids through Embryo Microinjection in the Worldwide Agricultural Pest Insect, Ceratitis capitata
Published on: October 1, 2016
Ludvik M Gomulski1, Cristina Torti, Valentina Murelli
1Department of Animal Biology, University of Pavia, Piazza Botta 9, I-27100 Pavia, Italy.
Abstract:
The medfly genome has been shown to contain a rich assortment of transposable elements from the mariner, Tc1, hAT and gypsy/Ty3 families. These elements display different levels of diversity, abundance and distribution in the genome. The presence of actively transposing elements in the medfly genome is revealed by hybrid dysgenesis phenomena, insertion site polymorphisms and other genetic instabilities. The medfly has been a target of transformation studies involving the exogenous elements Minos, Hermes and piggyBac from three families. The presence of active endogenous homologous elements can have important implications for the stability of such transgenic lines. The potential applications of endogenous elements for medfly population analysis and control are discussed.
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