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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Microinjection of Western Corn Rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, Embryos for Germline Transformation, or CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing
Published on: April 27, 2018
Pesticide resistance via transposition-mediated adaptive gene truncation in Drosophila
Yael T Aminetzach1, J Michael Macpherson, Dmitri A Petrov
1Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Abstract:
To study adaptation, it is essential to identify multiple adaptive mutations and to characterize their molecular, phenotypic, selective, and ecological consequences. Here we describe a genomic screen for adaptive insertions of transposable elements in Drosophila. Using a pilot application of this screen, we have identified an adaptive transposable element insertion, which truncates a gene and apparently generates a functional protein in the process. The insertion of this transposable element confers increased resistance to an organophosphate pesticide and has spread in D. melanogaster recently.
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