Identification of a mariner element from the tsetse fly, Glossina palpalis palpalis

In the present study, the polymerase chain reaction was used initially to demonstrate the presence of mariner sequences in seven species/subspecies of tsetse flies. DNA hybridization experiments show mariner sequences to be dispersed within the tsetse genome and that there are large variations in copy numbers among the various taxa. A genomic library was used to isolate and characterize a full-length mariner element from G. p. palpalis. The results indicate that this element is 1257 bp in length, flanked by two 32 bp inverted repeats differing at only one position, and belongs to the mellifera subfamily. The nucleotide sequence that is translated into a reading frame of 337 amino acids requires the introduction of two frame shifts and one stop codon to maximize sequence homology with a mariner element from Drosophila erecta. Based on this evidence, we conclude that the G. p. palpalis mariner element clearly represents a non-functional transposable element and that the protein product is not an active transposase.