ARS | Publication request: Excision of the piggyBac transposable element in maize cells is a precise event

Submitted to: American Society of Plant Biologists Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: July 11, 2007
Publication Date: July 7, 2007
Citation: Johnson, E.T., Dowd, P.F. 2007. Excision of the piggyBac transposable element in maize cells is a precise event [abstract]. American Society of Plant Biologists Annual Meeting. Paper No. P36032

Technical Abstract: The piggyBac transposable element (TE) from the moth Trichoplusia ni encodes a ‘cut and paste’ DNA transposase that has been used to transform a number of insects, as well as planaria, mammalian cells, and mice. The wild type and a mutated piggyBac TE excised from a DNA vector in transient assays using maize cells when the piggyBac transposase was simultaneously expressed by a maize ubiquitin promoter. The mutated piggyBac TE also excised in the presence of the piggyBac transposase in stably transformed maize cells, leaving behind a ‘TTAA’ DNA sequence in its place, indicating a precise molecular excision characteristic of piggyBac transposase in other eukaryotic cells. These data indicate that piggyBac transposase may be able to carry genes into maize cells or serve as a mutagen for genetic studies.