Figure 1.

Diagram of the excision assay and results from three A. gambiae cell lines (4a-2, Sua 4.0, and Sua 5.1*) as well as the mbn2 hemocyte cell line of D. melanogaster (25), transformed with donor plasmid with (+) or without (−) a transposase-producing plasmid. Excision results in a DNA circle from sequences outside the Minos ends. Primers annealing to sequences within the circle (black arrows) can drive a PCR, resulting in a 167-bp excision band in + but not in − lanes. Lane C shows a control PCR without template. The doublet of bands at ca. 400 bp is derived from ectopic priming from donor plasmid sequences and is competed by the specific priming (compare lanes + and −).