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. 1994 Sep 13;91(19):9042–9046. doi: 10.1073/pnas.91.19.9042

A transposable element can drive the concerted evolution of tandemly repetitious DNA.

D Thompson-Stewart 1, G H Karpen 1, A C Spradling 1
PMCID: PMC44743  PMID: 8090766

Abstract

Recombination and conversion have been proposed to drive the concerted evolution of tandemly repeated DNA sequences. However, specific correction events within the repeated genes of multicellular organisms have not been observed directly, so their nature has remained speculative. We investigated whether the excision of transposable P elements from tandemly repeated sequences would induce unequal gene conversion. Genetically marked elements located in a subtelomeric repeat were mobilized, and the structure of the region was analyzed in progeny. We observed that the number of repeats was frequently altered. Decreases were more common than increases, and this bias probably resulted from intrinsic mechanisms governing P element-induced double-strand break repair. Our results suggest that transposable elements play an important role in the evolution of repetitious DNA.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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