P transposons controlled by the heat shock promoter

We have transformed Drosophila melanogaster with modified P-element transposons, which express the transposase function from the heat-inducible hsp70 heat shock promoter. The Icarus transposon, which contains a direct hsp70-P fusion gene, behaved like a very active autonomous P element even before heat shock induction. Although heat shock led to abundant somatic transcription, transposition of the Icarus element was confined to germ line cells. To reduce the constitutive transposase activity observed for the Icarus element, we attenuated the translational efficiency of the transposase RNA by inserting the transposon 5 neomycin resistance gene between the hsp70 promoter and the P-element sequences. The resulting construct, called Icarus-neo, conferred resistance to G418, and its transposition was significantly stimulated by heat shock. Heat shocks applied during the embryonic or third instar larval stage had similar effects, indicating that transposition of P elements is not restricted to a certain developmental stage. Both Icarus and Icarus-neo destabilized snw in a P-cytotype background and thus at least partially overcome the repression of transposition. Our results suggest that the regulation of P-element transposition occurs at both the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels.