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Activation of silent transposable elements.

B Burr1, F A Burr

  • 1Biology Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973.

Basic Life Sciences
|January 1, 1988
PubMed
Summary
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Chromosome breakage can activate maize transposable elements. Ethyl methanesulfonate treatment induced Spm element activation, suggesting a potential DNA repair response, not direct mutagenesis.

Area of Science:

  • Plant Genetics
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Chromosome-breaking agents are known to activate quiescent transposable elements in maize.
  • The precise mechanism by which chromosome breakage leads to transposable element activation is not fully understood.
  • A potential analogy exists with the SOS response in Escherichia coli, involving error-prone DNA repair.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between chemical mutagenesis, chromosome breakage, and transposable element activation in maize.
  • To determine if ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) treatment induces transposable element activation through direct DNA damage or a cellular repair response.
  • To analyze the timing and pattern of transposable element activation events following EMS treatment.

Main Methods:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Maize seeds homozygous for specific alleles (a1-m2(8004), wx-m8) lacking active Spm were treated with ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS).
  • Observed and quantified the rate of Spm transposable element activation in the treated seeds.
  • Analyzed the spatial distribution of activation events within the resulting maize ears.

Main Results:

  • EMS treatment resulted in Spm activation at a rate of 1.1 x 10^-4, significantly higher than the spontaneous rate of 1.2 x 10^-5.
  • Most activation events appeared as single kernels, not large sectors.
  • The late timing of these events suggests they may not be a direct consequence of chemical mutagenesis in mature kernels.

Conclusions:

  • The observed Spm activation pattern suggests a cellular response, possibly an induced DNA repair mechanism, rather than direct mutagenesis.
  • Chromosome breakage may initiate a process leading to increased spontaneous mutation rates, akin to the SOS response.
  • Further research is needed to elucidate the exact molecular pathways linking DNA damage, repair, and transposable element dynamics in maize.