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Spread of P elements in drosophila melanogaster Meister, Gerald Alan

Abstract

Several experiments suggest that P elements spread in mixed P-M populations. These experiments monitored the spread of the ability of flies to induce and to suppress gonadal dysgenesis. Such experiments, based on physiological phenotypes and providing no molecular data, are unable to distinguish between the "dispersal" and "copy number accumulation" aspects of P element spread. This thesis describes several experiments undertaken to gain a fuller understanding of the various components of P element spread. The invasion of P elements in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster was modelled by establishing laboratory populations with 0.5% and 5% P genomes. Two replicate populations at each frequency were monitored over twenty generations. The percentage of genomes that contained P elements was followed by single fly ovary blots at each generation for all populations. The distribution of P elements among individual flies was monitored by single fly Southern blots at even numbered generations from 6 to 20 for the two populations initiated with 5% P genomes. This analysis of the molecular dispersal of P elements is compared to the spread of the physiological phenotypes demonstrated by a collaborating lab. Our results show that the frequency of flies containing P elements increased each generation. The number of P elements within individual genomes decreased initially, but then increased to equal or surpass the number of elements in the parental P strain. Finally, the distribution of P elements within the genomes of individuals from later generations varied considerably, and this pattern differed from the original P strain. These results suggest that the interaction between the assortment and recombination of chromosomal segments, and some form of multiplicative transposition could result in the rapid spread of P elements in natural populations.

Item Metadata

Title
Spread of P elements in drosophila melanogaster
Creator
Meister, Gerald Alan
Publisher
University of British Columbia
Date Issued
1992
Description
Several experiments suggest that P elements spread in mixed P-M populations. These experiments monitored the spread of the ability of flies to induce and to suppress gonadal dysgenesis. Such experiments, based on physiological phenotypes and providing no molecular data, are unable to distinguish between the "dispersal" and "copy number accumulation" aspects of P element spread. This thesis describes several experiments undertaken to gain a fuller understanding of the various components of P element spread. The invasion of P elements in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster was modelled by establishing laboratory populations with 0.5% and 5% P genomes. Two replicate populations at each frequency were monitored over twenty generations. The percentage of genomes that contained P elements was followed by single fly ovary blots at each generation for all populations. The distribution of P elements among individual flies was monitored by single fly Southern blots at even numbered generations from 6 to 20 for the two populations initiated with 5% P genomes. This analysis of the molecular dispersal of P elements is compared to the spread of the physiological phenotypes demonstrated by a collaborating lab. Our results show that the frequency of flies containing P elements increased each generation. The number of P elements within individual genomes decreased initially, but then increased to equal or surpass the number of elements in the parental P strain. Finally, the distribution of P elements within the genomes of individuals from later generations varied considerably, and this pattern differed from the original P strain. These results suggest that the interaction between the assortment and recombination of chromosomal segments, and some form of multiplicative transposition could result in the rapid spread of P elements in natural populations.
Extent
2533440 bytes
Genre
Thesis/Dissertation
Type
Text
File Format
application/pdf
Language
eng
Date Available
2009-01-06
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
DOI
10.14288/1.0098909
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/3387
Degree
Master of Science - MSc
Program
Zoology
Affiliation
Science, Faculty of; Zoology, Department of
Degree Grantor
University of British Columbia
Graduation Date
1992-05
Campus
UBCV
Scholarly Level
Graduate
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

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For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.