Type I repressors of P element mobility

Abstract

We describe here a family of P elements that we refer to as type I repressors. These elements are identified by their repressor functions and their lack of any deletion within the first two-thirds of the canonical P sequence. Elements belonging to this repressor class were isolated from P strains and were made in vitro. We found that type I repressor elements could strongly repress both a cytotype-dependent allele and P element mobility in somatic and germline tissues. These effects were very dependent on genomic position. Moreover, we observed that an element's ability to repress in one assay positively correlated with its ability to repress in either of the other two assays. The type I family of repressor elements includes both autonomous P elements and those lacking exon 3 of the P element. Fine structure deletion mapping showed that the minimal 3' boundary of a functional type I element lies between nucleotide position 1950 and 1956. None of 12 elements examined with more extreme deletions extending into exon 2 made repressor. We conclude that the type I repressors form a structurally distinct group that does not include more extensively deleted repressor elements such as the KP element described previously.