PIF -like Transposons are Common in Drosophila and Have Been Repeatedly Domesticated to Generate New Host Genes

By Casola Claudio   Lawing A. Michelle   Betrn Esther   Feschotte Cdric  

Molecular Biology and Evolution, Vol. 24, Iss. 8, 2007-08 ,pp. : 1872-1888

Oxford University Press

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Transposons (transposable elements), discovered in maize by Barbara McClintock in 1948, are DNA sequences that can change their positions within the genome. Transposition of transposons can introduce mutations in the host genome. Actually, there was a close and astonishing relationship between transposons and the culture of the Edo era. In late Edo, a large number of mutant Asagaos (Japanese morning glory) were isolated, and it became popular to cultivate them; in fact, many mutations were caused by transposons. These mutant Asagaos have been collected by researchers and are currently maintained by a group led mainly by Kyushu University. See the website of National BioResource Project (NBRP) “Asagao” (http://www.shigen.nig.ac.jp/asagao/) for further details. Designed by TRAIS Co., Ltd. (Kobe, Japan)

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GENES TO CELLS, Vol. 20, Iss. 8, 2015-08 ,pp. : i-i

John Wiley & Sons Inc

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The normal white (w+) gene in Drosophila is required for production of red pigment in the eyes. In some mutants in which the w+ gene has been moved to a region near the centrosomal heterochromatin due to an inversion in the X chromosome, the eyes are mottled with red and white patches; the w+ gene in the white cells has been silenced due to spreading heterochromatin, while w+ gene in the red cells is active. This phenomenon is called PEV (position‐effect variegation), and a number of factors that control epigenetics, such as histone methyltransferases, have been identified by measuring the extent of variegation. Now, in this sliding screen, maple leaves in autumn were drawn with Japanese ink on gold foil background except some in the central oval with a red paint as an accent. A shadow that looks like Drosophila happened to be cast on it, emerging a figure of the w mutant with a mottled eye. Designed by TRAIS Co., Ltd. (Kobe, Japan)

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GENES TO CELLS, Vol. 20, Iss. 11, 2015-11 ,pp. : i-i

John Wiley & Sons Inc

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Elias Metschnikoff, Anton Dohrn, and the Metazoan Common Ancestor

By Ghiselin M.T.  

Journal of the History of Biology, Vol. 30, Iss. 2, 1997-01 ,pp. : 211-228

Springer Publishing Company

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Looking for the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA)

By Koskela Minna   Annila Arto  

Genes, Vol. 3, Iss. 1, 2012-01 ,pp. : 81-87

MDPI

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