Isolation and characterization of hypervariable sequences from tsetse fly genome

A Glossina brevipalpis Newstead genomic library, constructed using a Charomid 9-36 vector, was used to isolate putative clones that hybridize to polymorphic regions of the tsetse genome. Five types of probes, that reveal individual DNA polymorphic in humans and higher animal species, were used to screen 300 tsetse Charomid clones; 15% of the clones hybridized with at least one probe. Twenty four recombinants were further characterized by Southern blotting hybridization using DNA isolated from individual tsetse fly from Glossina morsitans centralis Machado. Two classes of DNA profiles were obtained upon hybridization with the recombinant inserts. The first, termed the "multilocus profile" displayed a complex DNA pattern of multiple components whilst the second, referred to as the "single locus profile" revealed one or two bands in each individual. Of the 24 recombinant inserts tested, 13 were multilocus probes and the remainder were single locus probes, each of which hybridized to a single location when G. m. centralis DNA had been cleaved with EcoRI. These single locus probes revealed a low level of genetic variability among individual flies from an inbred colony. The hybridization profiles using multilocus and single locus probes were also obtained on DNA from individual Glossina palpalis palpalis Robineau-Desvoidy and Glossina palpalis gambienis Vanderplank and some of the G. brevipalpis recombinant clones also detected multilocus profiles in honey bees and man.