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. 2000 Aug;155(4):1821–1830. doi: 10.1093/genetics/155.4.1821

Distinct P-element excision products in somatic and germline cells of Drosophila melanogaster.

G B Gloor 1, J Moretti 1, J Mouyal 1, K J Keeler 1
PMCID: PMC1461202  PMID: 10924477

Abstract

The footprints remaining following somatic P-element excision from the Drosophila white locus were recovered and characterized. Two different types of footprints were observed. Over 75% of the footprints were short, composed of 4 or 7 nucleotides of the P-element inverted terminal repeat, and were similar to those found in a previously described plasmid excision assay. The remaining footprints were composed of 14-18 nucleotides of both inverted terminal repeats. These large footprints were indistinguishable from those recovered following germline P-element excision. Enhanced expression of the Drosophila homologue of the Ku70 protein did not affect the structure of the somatic footprints. Therefore, this protein is not a limiting factor for double-strand break repair by nonhomologous end-joining in Drosophila somatic cells.

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Selected References

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