U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Crop Bioprotection Research: Peoria, IL
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    NCAUR HomepageSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Midwest Area Peoria, Illinois National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research Crop Bioprotection Research Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            Johnson, Ericitem
                                            Dowd, Patrick
  Submitted to: Molecular Genetics and Genomics
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 4/29/2014
                                    Publication  Date: 9/29/2014
                                    Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/60598Citation: Johnson, E.T., Dowd, P.F. 2014. A non-autonomous insect piggyBac transposable element is mobile in tobacco. Molecular Genetics and Genomics. 289(5):895-902.Interpretive Summary: One approach to discovering the functions of the thousands of genes present in crop plants is through the use of mobile DNA that disrupts normal gene function and causes measurable changes in plant structure, resistance or productivity. However, the mobile DNA currently used in these studies is not very efficient at producing single changes that can be traced to a single gene. A mobile piece of DNA, called piggyBac, has some unique properties that enables it to "jump" from one location in DNA to another and produce only a single change in the gene where it inserts. The element piggyBac is active in both insects and mammals. Our work demonstrates for the first time that piggyBac is also active in tobacco. This means that piggyBac can likely be used in gene studies for understanding the functions of tobacco genes, and probably can be used for other crops as well. This molecular tool could help discover the many unknown genes that contribute to crop health and yield, thereby increasing productivity, improving safety and lowering costs for consumers.
                                Technical Abstract: The piggyBac transposable element, originally isolated from a virus in an insect cell line, is a valuable molecular tool for transgenesis and mutagenesis of invertebrates. For heterologous transgenesis in a variety of mammals, transfer of the piggyBac transposable element from an ectopic plasmid only requires expression of piggyBac transposase. To determine if piggyBac could function in dicotyledonous plants, a two element system was developed in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). The first transgenic line constitutively expressed piggyBac transposase while the second transgenic line contained at least two non-autonomous piggyBac transposable elements. Progeny from crosses of the two transgenic lines were analyzed for piggyBac excision and transposition. Several progeny displayed excision events, and all the sequenced excision sites exhibited evidence of the precise excision mechanism characteristic of piggyBac transposase. Two unique transposition insertion events were identified that each included diagnostic duplication of the target site (TTAA). These data indicate that piggyBac transposase is active in a dicotyledonous plant, although at a low frequency.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov