TheHermestransposable element from the house fly,Musca domestica, is a short inverted repeat-type element of thehobo, Ac, andTam3(hAT) element family

Abstract

SummaryThe genome of the house fly,Musca domestica, contains an active transposable element system, calledHermes. Using PCR and inverse PCR we amplified and sequenced overlapping segments of severalHermeselements and from these data we have constructed a 2749 bp consensusHermesDNA sequence.Hermestermini are composed of 17 bp imperfect inverted repeats that are almost identical to the inverted terminal repeats of thehoboelement ofDrosophila melanogaster. Full lengthHermeselements contain a single long ORF capable of encoding a protein of 612 amino acids which is 55% identical to the amino acid sequence of thehobotransposase. Comparison of the ends of theHermesandhoboelements to those of theAcelement ofZea mays, and theTam3element ofAntirrhinum majus, as well as several other plant and insect elements, revealed a conserved terminal sequence motif. ThusHermesis clearly a member of thehobo,AcandTam3(hAT) transposable element family, other members of which include theTaglelement fromArabidopsis thalianaand theBgelement fromZea mays. The evolution of this class of transposable elements and the potential utility ofHermesas a genetic tool inM. domesticaand related species are discussed.