Isolation from the horse genome of a new DNA transposon belonging to the Tigger family.
Paulis M., Moralli D., Bensi M., De Carli L., Raimondi E.
Tigger elements are human DNA transposons homologous to the pogo element of Drosophila melanogaster. They contain an open reading frame for a transposase very similar to the major mammalian centromere protein CENP-B. We found in the horse genome a DNA element ( Ecatig3) sharing 88% homology with human Tigger3. The presence of Tigger elements in the horse genome confirms previous data that date these elements before the divergence between Perissodactyla and Primates (80-90 Myr ago). Copy number evaluation indicates that the horse element is much more abundant than its human counterpart. Southern blot analysis demonstrates that Ecatig3 elements are extremely homogeneous; this may indicate that the evolution of this DNA transposon has been driven by some kind of selection and has not been neutral.