Passport, a native Tc1 transposon from flatfish, is functionally active in vertebrate cells

Area of Science:

• Genetics
• Molecular Biology
• Evolutionary Biology

Background:

• Tc1/mariner DNA transposons are prevalent across kingdoms and influence host genome evolution.
• No active Tc1 transposon has been identified in a native vertebrate genome previously.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and characterize an active Tc1 transposon in vertebrates.
• To evaluate the potential of this transposon as a tool for vertebrate genome engineering.

Main Methods:

• Isolation of the Passport transposon from Pleuronectes platessa.
• Transposition assays in various vertebrate cell types.
• Analysis of insertion site preference and regulatory mechanisms.

Main Results:

• The Passport transposon is active in diverse vertebrate cells.
• Passport system improved stable cellular transgenesis by 40-fold.
• Passport shows gene insertion preference and overproduction inhibition.

Conclusions:

• Passport is the first natively intact and active vertebrate Tc1 element.
• This transposon offers a novel tool for vertebrate genome manipulation.
• Passport provides a system for studying Tc1 element activity in vertebrate genomes.