We have isolated a transposable element, designated PAT-1, from the free-living nematode Panagrellus redivivus. P. redivivus strain C15 was found to have a high spontaneous mutation frequency compared to the standard Caenorhabditis elegans laboratory strain N2. To characterize the genetic lesions occurring in spontaneous C15 mutants, we molecularly cloned the homolog of the C. elegans unc-22 gene from wild-type P. redivivus and two strains carrying spontaneous mutations in this gene. One of these mutations resulted from the insertion of a 4.8-kilobase segment of repetitive DNA. This repetitive element (PAT-I) varies in copy number (10-50 copies) and location in different P. redivivus strains and is absent from C. elegans. The element could be useful as a transformation vector for C. elegans. Our approach is a general one that could be used to isolate additional nematode transposons from other species.The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been intensively studied as a model developmental system, and a few of its developmentally important genes have been molecularly cloned (1, 2). Characterization of these genes has been hampered by the lack of an efficient DNA transformation system. In Drosophila inelanogaster, P elements have proven to be extremely useful transformation vectors for stable reintroduction of cloned genes (3,4 MATERIALS AND METHODS Maintenance of Strains. P. redivivi's strains were routinely maintained at 20'C and handled essentially as described for C. elegans (18). The C15 strain (19) was obtained from M. R.Samoiloff(University of Manitoba); the PS strain from P. W. Sternberg (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); the SC strain from the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center (Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri); the W strain from J. Pasternak (University of Waterloo); and the G strain from E. Geraert (State University of Ghent, Belgium). The C15 strain is the product of nine sibling matings (19); the remaining strains are not inbred. P. rediviv'its unc-22 ("twitcher") mutants were maintained by mating individual female siblings of twitcher males to wild-type males; half of these matings produced twitcher males.Construction of Genomic Libraries. Genomic DNA from wild-type P. redivivits was prepared from mixed-stage populations of animals harvested from NG plates (18)
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