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Mobile Dispersed Genetic Elements and Other Middle Repetitive DNA Sequences in the Genomes of Drosophila and Mouse: Transcription and Biological Significance
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1981
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DnaGeneticsGenomic MechanismMolecular BiologyMolecular GeneticsGenomicsBiological SignificanceDrosophila MelanogasterGene StructureEntire Mdg ElementGenome StudyRna Structure PredictionGenome StructureDna ReplicationGenetic VariationGene EvolutionGene ExpressionFunctional GenomicsChromatinDevelopmental BiologyMdg ElementsNatural SciencesMedicineGenetic Elements
Tchurikov et al. (this volume) describe the general properties and structural organization of several mobile dispersed genetic (mdg) elements isolated from the genome of Drosophila melanogaster. In this paper we present data on the transcriptional patterns of mdg elements, in particular, of mdg-1 and mdg-3. The transcription of the entire mdg element (including direct repeats), certain evidence in favor of splicing, and the preferential localization of mdg transcripts in the fraction of free ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particles are described. An intriguing property of mdg elements is the presence in the cell of transcripts from both DNA strands. This suggests the symmetrical transcription of mdg elements, although one strand is read much more efficiently than the other. In D. melanogaster, virtually all cellular double-stranded (DS) RNA is transcribed from mdg elements, and the phenomenon can be used as a diagnostic test for these elements.