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We examined by Southern blotting the state of the cellular oncogene c-myc In the dog transmissible venereal tumor. The tumor DNA contains a 16.8-kilobase pair (kbp) rearranged c-myc fragment in addition to the normal 15-kbp and 7.5-kbp fragments. We compared the structure of the cloned rearranged c-myc (rc-myc) with that of a cloned normal c-myc and found that the rearrangement was due to the insertion of a 1.8-kbp DNA upstream to the first exon of c-myc. The inserted DNA is flanked by 10-base-pair direct repeats and contains a dA-rich tail, suggesting its origin from mRNA. Partial sequence of the inserted element showed 62% homology with the primate interdispersed Kpn I repetitive element. These results provide an example for the behavior of repetitive DNA sequences like the Kpn I family, as movable elements that can transpose nearby to oncogenes or other structural genes and perhaps affect their activity.

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Protocols were developed for regeneration and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Actinidia eriantha Benth. A. eriantha has a number of features that make it a useful tool for functional genomics in Actinidia: the vines are relatively small and non-vigorous in nature, flowers form all over the vine including on lower axillary branches and the species flowers prolifically in greenhouse conditions. Flowering and fruiting of transgenic A. eriantha plants was obtained within 2 years of transformation in a containment greenhouse. GUS (beta-glucuronidase) activity indicating stable expression of the uidA gene was observed in leaf, stem, root, petal and fruit tissues. Molecular evidence for incorporation of transgenes into the A. eriantha genome was obtained by PCR and DNA gel blot analysis. Inheritance of transgenic phenotypes was demonstrated in seedling progeny. Functional genomic studies in kiwifruit have been initiated using transgenic A. eriantha plants.