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. 1989 May;8(5):1315–1321. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb03511.x

Transpositional behavior of the maize En/Spm element in transgenic tobacco

Andy Pereira 1, Heinz Saedler 1
PMCID: PMC400957  PMID: 16453881

Abstract

The transposable element Enhancer (En/Spm) of Zea mays encodes the functions necessary for transposition of members of the En-I family of elements. En constructs were introduced into tobacco and transposition was demonstrated by cloning and DNA sequence analysis. Transcriptional analysis of En transgenic plants revealed 2.5 and 6 kb En homologous transcripts similar in size to those found in maize, in addition to aberrant splice products. Progeny analysis of a primary transformant indicates En transpositional activity after meiosis. In these progeny somatic variegation, at the NPT II gene, was demonstrated to be caused by En excision. Two re-insertions of En were analyzed and found to reside in unique copy DNA while another was found in middle repetitive DNA.

Keywords: En, transposon, transgenic, transposase, variegation

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