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ABSTRACT: CONTRIBUTING REVIEWERS: The editors of Mobile DNA would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in volume 3 (2012).
Mobile DNA. 01/2013; 4(1):4.
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ABSTRACT: A revelation of the genomic age has been the contributions of the mobile DNA segments called transposable elements to chromosome structure, function, and evolution in virtually all organisms. Substantial fractions of vertebrate genomes derive from transposable elements, being dominated by retroelements that move via RNA intermediates. Although many of these elements have been inactivated by mutation, several active retroelements remain. Vertebrate genomes also contain substantial quantities and a high diversity of cut-and-paste DNA transposons, but no active representative of this class has been identified in mammals. Here we show that a cut-and-paste element called piggyBat, which has recently invaded the genome of the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) and is a member of the piggyBac superfamily, is active in its native form in transposition assays in bat and human cultured cells, as well as in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our study suggests that some DNA transposons are still actively shaping some mammalian genomes and reveals an unprecedented opportunity to study the mechanism, regulation, and genomic impact of cut-and-paste transposition in a natural mammalian host.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 12/2012; · 9.68 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Chromosome structure and function are influenced by transposable elements, which are mobile DNA segments that can move from
place to place. hAT elements are a superfamily of DNA cut and paste elements that move by excision and integration. We have characterized two
hAT elements, TcBuster and Space Invaders (SPIN), that are members of a recently described subfamily of hAT elements called Buster elements. We show that TcBuster, from the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, is highly active in human cells. SPIN elements are currently inactive elements that were recently highly active in multiple vertebrate genomes, and the high level
of sequence similarity across widely diverged species and patchy phylogenetic distribution suggest that they may have moved
between genomes by horizontal transfer. We have generated an intact version of this element, SPINON, which is highly active in human cells. In vitro analysis of TcBuster and SPINON shows that no proteins other than transposase are essential for recombination, a property that may contribute to the ability
of SPIN to successfully invade multiple organisms. We also analyze the target site preferences of de novo insertions in the human
genome of TcBuster and SPINON and compare them with the preferences of Sleeping Beauty and piggyBac, showing that each superfamily has a distinctive pattern of insertion. The high-frequency transposition of both TcBuster and SPINON suggests that these transposon systems offer powerful tools for genome engineering. Finally, we describe a Saccharomyces cerevisiae assay for TcBuster that will provide a means for isolation of hyperactive and other interesting classes of transposase mutants.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 10/2012; · 9.68 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Transposons are useful tools for creating transgenic organisms, insertional mutagenesis, and genome engineering. TcBuster, a novel hAT-family transposon system derived from the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, was shown to be highly active in previous studies in insect embryoes.
We tested TcBuster for its activity in human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK-293) cells. Excision footprints obtained from HEK-293 cells contained small insertions and deletions consistent with a hAT-type repair mechanism of hairpin formation and non-homologous end-joining. Genome-wide analysis of 23,417 piggyBac, 30,303 Sleeping Beauty, and 27,985 TcBuster integrations in HEK-293 cells revealed a uniquely different integration pattern when compared to other transposon systems with regards to genomic elements. TcBuster experimental conditions were optimized to assay TcBuster activity in HEK-293 cells by colony assay selection for a neomycin-containing transposon. Increasing transposon plasmid increased the number of colonies, whereas gene transfer activity dependent on codon-optimized transposase plasmid peaked at 100 ng with decreased colonies at the highest doses of transposase DNA. Expression of the related human proteins Buster1, Buster3, and SCAND3 in HEK-293 cells did not result in genomic integration of the TcBuster transposon. TcBuster, Tol2, and piggyBac were compared directly at different ratios of transposon to transposase and found to be approximately comparable while having their own ratio preferences.
TcBuster was found to be highly active in mammalian HEK-293 cells and represents a promising tool for mammalian genome engineering.
PLoS ONE 01/2012; 7(11):e42666. · 4.09 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Transposons, segments of DNA that can mobilize to other locations in a genome, are often used for insertion mutagenesis or to generate priming sites for sequencing of large DNA molecules. For both of these uses, a transposon with minimal insertion bias is desired to allow complete coverage with minimal oversampling.
Three transposons, Mu, Tn5, and Tn7, were used to generate insertions in the same set of fosmids containing Candida glabrata genomic DNA. Tn7 demonstrates markedly less insertion bias than either Mu or Tn5, with both Mu and Tn5 biased toward sequences containing guanosine (G) and cytidine (C). This preference of Mu and Tn5 yields less uniform spacing of insertions than for Tn7, in the adenosine (A) and thymidine (T) rich genome of C. glabrata (39% GC).
In light of its more uniform distribution of insertions, Tn7 should be considered for applications in which insertion bias is deleterious.
Mobile DNA. 01/2012; 3(1):3.
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ABSTRACT: The piRNA pathway has been shown in model organisms to be involved in silencing of transposons thereby providing genome stability. In D. melanogaster the majority of piRNAs map to these sequences. The medically important mosquito species Aedes aegypti has a large genome size, a high transposon load which includes Miniature Inverted repeat Transposable Elements (MITES) and an expansion of the piRNA biogenesis genes. Studies of transgenic lines of Ae. aegypti have indicated that introduced transposons are poorly remobilized and we sought to explore the basis of this. We wished to analyze the piRNA profile of Ae. aegypti and thereby determine if it is responsible for transposon silencing in this mosquito.
Estimated piRNA sequence diversity was comparable between Ae. aegypti and D. melanogaster, but surprisingly only 19% of mosquito piRNAs mapped to transposons compared to 51% for D. melanogaster. Ae. aegypti piRNA clusters made up a larger percentage of the total genome than those of D. melanogaster but did not contain significantly higher percentages of transposon derived sequences than other regions of the genome. Ae. aegypti contains a number of protein coding genes that may be sources of piRNA biogenesis with two, traffic jam and maelstrom, implicated in this process in model organisms. Several genes of viral origin were also targeted by piRNAs. Examination of six mosquito libraries that had previously been transformed with transposon derived sequence revealed that new piRNA sequences had been generated to the transformed sequences, suggesting that they may have stimulated a transposon inactivation mechanism.
Ae. aegypti has a large piRNA complement that maps to transposons but primarily gene sequences, including many viral-derived sequences. This, together the more uniform distribution of piRNA clusters throughout its genome, suggest that some aspects of the piRNA system differ between Ae. aegypti and D. melanogaster.
BMC Genomics 12/2011; 12:606. · 4.07 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We characterized a recently developed hyperactive piggyBac (pB) transposase enzyme [containing seven mutations (7pB)] for gene transfer in human cells in vitro and to somatic cells in mice in vivo. Despite a protein level expression similar to that of native pB, 7pB significantly increased the gene transfer efficiency of a neomycin resistance cassette transposon in both HEK293 and HeLa cultured human cells. Native pB and SB100X, the most active transposase of the Sleeping Beauty transposon system, exhibited similar transposition efficiency in cultured human cell lines. When delivered to primary human T cells ex vivo, 7pB increased gene delivery two- to threefold compared with piggyBac and SB100X. The activity of hyperactive 7pB transposase was not affected by the addition of a 24-kDa N-terminal tag, whereas SB100X manifested a 50% reduction in transposition. Hyperactive 7pB was compared with native pB and SB100X in vivo in mice using hydrodynamic tail-vein injection of a limiting dose of transposase DNA combined with luciferase reporter transposons. We followed transgene expression for up to 6 months and observed approximately 10-fold greater long-term gene expression in mice injected with a codon-optimized version of 7pB compared with mice injected with native pB or SB100X. We conclude that hyperactive piggyBac elements can increase gene transfer in human cells and in vivo and should enable improved gene delivery using the piggyBac transposon system in a variety of cell and gene-therapy applications.
Human gene therapy 12/2011; 23(3):311-20. · 4.20 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The development of technologies that allow the stable delivery of large genomic DNA fragments in mammalian systems is important for genetic studies as well as for applications in gene therapy. DNA transposons have emerged as flexible and efficient molecular vehicles to mediate stable cargo transfer. However, the ability to carry DNA fragments >10 kb is limited in most DNA transposons. Here, we show that the DNA transposon piggyBac can mobilize 100-kb DNA fragments in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, making it the only known transposon with such a large cargo capacity. The integrity of the cargo is maintained during transposition, the copy number can be controlled and the inserted giant transposons express the genomic cargo. Furthermore, these 100-kb transposons can also be excised from the genome without leaving a footprint. The development of piggyBac as a large cargo vector will facilitate a wider range of genetic and genomic applications.
Nucleic Acids Research 09/2011; 39(22):e148. · 8.03 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Transposons are found in virtually all organisms and play fundamental roles in genome evolution. They can also acquire new functions in the host organism and some have been developed as incisive genetic tools for transformation and mutagenesis. The hAT transposon superfamily contains members from the plant and animal kingdoms, some of which are active when introduced into new host organisms. We have identified two new active hAT transposons, AeBuster1, from the mosquito Aedes aegypti and TcBuster from the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. Activity of both transposons is illustrated by excision and transposition assays performed in Drosophila melanogaster and Ae. aegypti and by in vitro strand transfer assays. These two active insect transposons are more closely related to the Buster sequences identified in humans than they are to the previously identified active hAT transposons, Ac, Tam3, Tol2, hobo, and Hermes. We therefore reexamined the structural and functional relationships of hAT and hAT-like transposase sequences extracted from genome databases and found that the hAT superfamily is divided into at least two families. This division is supported by a difference in target-site selections generated by active transposons of each family. We name these families the Ac and Buster families after the first identified transposon or transposon-like sequence in each. We find that the recently discovered SPIN transposons of mammals are located within the family of Buster elements.
Genetics 03/2011; 188(1):45-57. · 4.01 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: DNA transposons have been widely used for transgenesis and insertional mutagenesis in various organisms. Among the transposons active in mammalian cells, the moth-derived transposon piggyBac is most promising with its highly efficient transposition, large cargo capacity, and precise repair of the donor site. Here we report the generation of a hyperactive piggyBac transposase. The active transposition of piggyBac in multiple organisms allowed us to screen a transposase mutant library in yeast for hyperactive mutants and then to test candidates in mouse ES cells. We isolated 18 hyperactive mutants in yeast, among which five were also hyperactive in mammalian cells. By combining all mutations, a total of 7 aa substitutions, into a single reading frame, we generated a unique hyperactive piggyBac transposase with 17-fold and ninefold increases in excision and integration, respectively. We showed its applicability by demonstrating an increased efficiency of generation of transgene-free mouse induced pluripotent stem cells. We also analyzed whether this hyperactive piggyBac transposase affects the genomic integrity of the host cells. The frequency of footprints left by the hyperactive piggyBac transposase was as low as WT transposase (~1%) and we found no evidence that the expression of the transposase affects genomic integrity. This hyperactive piggyBac transposase expands the utility of the piggyBac transposon for applications in mammalian genetics and gene therapy.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 01/2011; 108(4):1531-6. · 9.68 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Transposons are mobile genetic elements that are an important source of genetic variation and are useful tools for genome engineering, mutagenesis screens, and vectors for transgenesis including gene therapy. We have used second-generation sequencing to analyze ≈2 × 10(5) unique de novo transposon insertion sites of the transposon Hermes in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome from both in vitro transposition reactions by using purified yeast genomic DNA, to better characterize intrinsic sequence specificity, and sites recovered from in vivo transposition events, to characterize the effect of intracellular factors such as chromatin on target site selection. We find that Hermes transposon targeting in vivo is profoundly affected by chromatin structure: The subset of genome-wide target sites used in vivo is strongly associated (P < 2e-16 by Fisher's exact test) with nucleosome-free chromatin. Our characterization of the insertion site preferences of Hermes not only assists in the future use of this transposon as a molecular biology tool but also establishes methods to more fully determine targeting mechanisms of other transposons. We have also discovered a long-range sequence motif that defines S. cerevisiae nucleosome-free regions.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 12/2010; 107(51):21966-72. · 9.68 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Four transposition proteins encoded by the bacterial transposon Tn7, TnsA, TnsB, TnsC, and TnsD, mediate its site- and orientation-specific insertion into the chromosomal site attTn7. To establish which Tns proteins are actually present in the transpososome that executes DNA breakage and joining, we have determined the proteins present in the nucleoprotein product of transposition, the posttransposition complex (PTC), using fluorescently labeled Tns proteins. All four required Tns proteins are present in the PTC in which we also find that the Tn7 ends are paired by protein-protein contacts between Tns proteins bound to the ends. Quantification of the relative amounts of the fluorescent Tns proteins in the PTC indicates that oligomers of TnsA, TnsB, and TnsC mediate Tn7 transposition. High-resolution DNA footprinting of the DNA product of transposition attTn7Colon, two colonsTn7 revealed that about 350 bp of DNA on the transposon ends and on attTn7 contact the Tns proteins. All seven binding sites for TnsB, the component of the transposase that specifically binds the ends and mediates 3' end breakage and joining, are occupied in the PTC. However, the protection pattern of the sites closest to the Tn7 ends in the PTC are different from that observed with TnsB alone, likely reflecting the pairing of the ends and their interaction with the target nucleoprotein complex necessary for activation of the breakage and joining steps. We also observe extensive protection of the attTn7 sequences in the PTC and that alternative DNA structures in substrate attTn7 that are imposed by TnsD are maintained in the PTC.
Journal of Molecular Biology 08/2010; 401(2):167-81. · 4.00 Impact Factor
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Mobile DNA. 01/2010; 1(1):1.
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ABSTRACT: The bacterial transposon Tn7 is distinguished by its ability to recognize a specific site called attTn7, and insert just downstream of the highly conserved chromosomal glmS gene. TnsD is one of four transposon-encoded polypeptides (TnsABC+D) required for site-specific insertion of Tn7 into attTn7, and is the target site-selector that binds to a highly conserved sequence in the end of the glmS protein coding region. In this study, we identified important nucleotides within this region that are crucial for TnsD-attTn7 interaction. We also probed the regions of TnsD that interact with attTn7 and found that there are important DNA-binding determinants throughout the entire length of the protein, including an amino-terminal CCCH zinc-finger motif. A key role of TnsD is to recruit the non-sequence specific DNA-binding protein TnsC to attTn7; TnsC also interacts with and controls both the TnsA and TnsB subunits of the Tn7 transposase. TnsC stimulates the binding of TnsD to attTn7 in vivo, and TnsCD and TnsD can also interact in the absence of DNA and localize their interaction domains to the N-terminal region of each protein.
Mobile DNA. 01/2010; 1(1):18.
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ABSTRACT: DNA transposons, or class 2 transposable elements, have successfully propagated in a wide variety of genomes. However, it is widely believed that DNA transposon activity has ceased in mammalian genomes for at least the last 40 million years. We recently reported evidence for the relatively recent activity of hAT and Helitron elements, two distinct groups of DNA transposons, in the lineage of the vespertilionid bat Myotis lucifugus. Here, we describe seven additional families that have also been recently active in the bat lineage. Early vespertilionid genome evolution was dominated by the activity of Helitrons, mariner-like and Tc2-like elements. This was followed by the colonization of Tc1-like elements, and by a more recent explosion of hAT-like elements. Finally, and most recently, piggyBac-like elements have amplified within the Myotis genome and our results indicate that one of these families is probably still expanding in natural populations. Together, these data suggest that there has been tremendous recent activity of various DNA transposons in the bat lineage that far exceeds those previously reported for any mammalian lineage. The diverse and recent populations of DNA transposons in genus Myotis will provide an unprecedented opportunity to study the impact of this class of elements on mammalian genome evolution and to better understand what makes some species more susceptible to invasion by genomic parasites than others.
Genome Research 06/2008; 18(5):717-28. · 13.61 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: DNA synthesis is considered a defining feature in the movement of transposable elements. In determining the mechanism of piggyBac transposition, an insect transposon that is being increasingly used for genome manipulation in a variety of systems including mammalian cells, we have found that DNA synthesis can be avoided during piggyBac transposition, both at the donor site following transposon excision and at the insertion site following transposon integration. We demonstrate that piggyBac transposon excision occurs through the formation of transient hairpins on the transposon ends and that piggyBac target joining occurs by the direct attack of the 3'OH transposon ends on to the target DNA. This is the same strategy for target joining used by the members of DDE superfamily of transposases and retroviral integrases. Analysis of mutant piggyBac transposases in vitro and in vivo using a piggyBac transposition system we have established in Saccharomyces cerevisiae suggests that piggyBac transposase is a member of the DDE superfamily of recombinases, an unanticipated result because of the lack of sequence similarity between piggyBac and DDE family of recombinases.
The EMBO Journal 05/2008; 27(7):1097-109. · 9.20 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Currently, no transposon-based method for the mutagenesis of Schizosaccharomyces pombe exists. We have developed such a system based on the introduction of the hermes transposon from the housefly into S. pombe. This system efficiently disrupts open reading frames and allows the insertion sites to be readily identified.
Genetics 01/2008; 177(4):2519-23. · 4.01 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Inserting transgenes into bacterial chromosomes is generally quite involved, requiring a selection for cells carrying the insertion, usually for drug-resistance, or multiple cumbersome manipulations, or both. Several approaches use phage lambda red recombination, which allows for the possibility of mutagenesis of the transgene during a PCR step.
We present a simple, rapid and highly efficient method for transgene insertion into the chromosome of Escherichia coli, Salmonella or Shigella at a benign chromosomal site using the site-specific recombination machinery of the transposon Tn7. This method requires very few manipulations. The transgene is cloned into a temperature-sensitive delivery plasmid and transformed into bacterial cells. Growth at the permissive temperature with induction of the recombination machinery leads to transgene insertion, and subsequent growth at the nonpermissive temperature cures the delivery plasmid. Transgene insertion is highly site-specific, generating insertions solely at the Tn7 attachment site and so efficient that it is not necessary to select for the insertion.
This method is more efficient and straightforward than other techniques for transgene insertion available for E. coli and related bacteria, making moving transgenes from plasmids to a chromosomal location a simple matter. The non-requirement for selection is particularly well suited for use in development of unmarked strains for environmental release, such as live-vector vaccine strains, and also for promoter-fusion studies, and experiments in which every bacterial cell must express a transgene construct.
BMC Microbiology 02/2006; 6:39. · 3.04 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Mobile elements and their inactive remnants account for large proportions of most eukaryotic genomes, where they have had central roles in genome evolution. Over 50 years ago, McClintock reported a form of stress-induced genome instability in maize in which discrete DNA segments move between chromosomal locations. Our current mechanistic understanding of enzymes catalyzing transposition is largely limited to prokaryotic transposases. The Hermes transposon from the housefly is part of the eukaryotic hAT superfamily that includes hobo from Drosophila, McClintock's maize Activator and Tam3 from snapdragon. We report here the three-dimensional structure of a functionally active form of the transposase from Hermes at 2.1-A resolution. The Hermes protein has some structural features of prokaryotic transposases, including a domain with a retroviral integrase fold. However, this domain is disrupted by the insertion of an additional domain. Finally, transposition is observed only when Hermes assembles into a hexamer.
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 09/2005; 12(8):715-21. · 12.71 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: DNA transposition is the movement of a defined segment of DNA from one location to another. Although the enzymes that catalyze transposition in bacterial systems have been well characterized, much less is known about the families of transposase enzymes that function in higher organisms. Active transposons have been identified in many insect species, providing tools for gene identification and offering the possibility of altering the genotypes of natural insect populations. One of these active transposons is Hermes, a 2749-base-pair element from Musca domestica that encodes its own transposase. An N-terminally deleted version of the Hermes transposase (residues 79-612) has been overexpressed and purified, and crystals that diffract to 2.1 A resolution have been obtained at 277 K by the hanging-drop method.
Acta Crystallographica Section F Structural Biology and Crystallization Communications 07/2005; 61(Pt 6):587-90. · 0.51 Impact Factor
