The transposon Tip100 from the common morning glory is an autonomous element that can transpose in tobacco plants

Abstract

The mutable flaked or a (flaked) (a(f)) line of the common morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea) displays white flowers with colored flakes, and the a(f) mutation is caused by the insertion of a transposable element named Tip100 into the CHS-D gene for anthocyanin biosynthesis. The 3.9-kb Tip100 element belongs to the Ac/Ds family and contains an ORF encoding a polypeptide of 808 amino acids. The frequency and timing of flower variegation vary in different a(f) lines, and a genetic element termed Modulator has been postulated to affect the variegation pattern. Since the pattern of flower variegation is determined by the frequency and timing of excision of Tip100 from the CHS-D gene, we wished to determine whether Tip100 is an autonomous element that is itself capable of transposition in a heterologous host. To do this, we introduced the element into the genome of tobacco plants by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The intact Tip100 element was able to excise from its original position in the chromosome and reinsert into new sites in the tobacco genome, whereas an internal deletion derivative was not. Based on these results, we conclude that Tip100 is an autonomous element. We also discuss the nature of the putative Modulator element affecting flower and leaf variegation in various mutable lines of the morning glory.

Characterization of autonomous Dart1 transposons belonging to the hAT superfamily in rice

“…Excisions of the nDart1-0 and Dart1 elements from the GUS gene were examined by assaying the GUS activity (Fig. 4 ; Ishikawa et al 2002 ) and by detecting the appearance of PCR-amplified fragments (Fig. 5 ) with appropriate primers (Supplementary Table S1) from the GUS gene having nDart1-0/Dart1 excised.…”

Evolutionary history of the Tip100 transposon in the genus Ipomoea

“…Tip100 is an autonomous, freely moving element in I. purpurea (Ishikawa et al , 2002), to which has been attributed the color variegation patterns observed in flowers of some strains. Habu et al (1998) demonstrated that this TE is inserted into either the 5′ regulatory region, or the intron of the Chalcone Synthase D gene ( CHS-D ).…”