Transcriptionally promiscuous “blurry” promoters in Tc1/mariner transposons allow transcription in distantly related genomes

Abstract

Abstract Background We have recently described a peculiar feature of the promoters in two Drosophila Tc1-like elements, Bari1 and Bari3. The AT-richness and the presence of weak core-promoter motifs make these promoters, that we have defined “blurry”, able to activate transcription of a reporter gene in cellular systems as diverse as fly, human, yeast and bacteria. In order to clarify whether the blurry promoter is a specific feature of the Bari transposon family, we have extended this study to promoters isolated from three additional DNA transposon and from two additional LTR retrotransposons. Results Here we show that the blurry promoter is also a feature of two vertebrate transposable elements, Sleeping Beauty and Hsmar1, belonging to the Tc1/mariner superfamily. In contrast, this feature is not shared by the promoter of the hobo transposon, which belongs to the hAT superfamily, nor by LTR retrotransposon-derived promoters, which, in general, do not activate transcription when introduced into non-related genomes. Conclusions Our results suggest that the blurry promoter could be a shared feature of the members of the Tc1/mariner superfamily with possible evolutionary and biotechnological implications.

Keywords

• Horizontal gene transfer
• Promoter
• Tc1/mariner transposons
• Luciferase assay, transcriptional regulation, transposition, D
• Melanogaster, S
• Cerevisiae, H