General Properties of Mobile Dispersed Genetic Elements in Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

Movable genetic elements in the genomes of eukaryotes have been known since the early 1950s (McClintock 1952). However, studies on their molecular organization could be started only after the invention of recombinant DNA techniques. Finnegan et al. (1978) and Ilyin et al. (1978) reported the cloning of several DNA sequences characterized by the following properties: (1) They were responsible for the synthesis of a large amount of cellular poly(A)+ RNA, (2) they were represented by a high number of copies per genome, and (3) they were scattered throughout the whole genome, occurring in different chromosomes at many different sites.