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Conversion and reciprocal exchange between tandem repeats in Drosophila melanogaster

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Summary

We have developed an experimental system to assay conversion and reciprocal exchange between tandem repeats in Drosophila melanogaster. In this system, the recombining markers map 0.76 kb apart within the Adh gene, and the length of the repeated unit is 4.75 kb. Our results provide a preliminary record of germline frequencies of gene conversion and unequal exchange between these markers. Conversions involving dispersed repeats were not observed, and may be less frequent. This work demonstrates that conversion takes place at an appreciable frequency between tandem repeats in metazoan germline. It confirms that gene conversion can mediate homogenization of reiterated sequences in higher eukaryotes.

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Author notes

  1. François Brégégère

    Present address: Unité de Biochimie Cellulaire et Moléculaire, Institut Pasteur, 28 rue du Dr. Roux, F-75724, Paris Cédex 15, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Génétique et Biologie Cellulaires, Case 907, 1288, Marseille Cédex 9, France

    Régine Hipeau-Jacquotte & François Brégégère

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University Medical Center, 94305, Stanford, CA, USA

    Douglas L. Brutlag

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  1. Régine Hipeau-Jacquotte
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  2. Douglas L. Brutlag
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  3. François Brégégère
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Communicated by D.J. Finnegan

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Hipeau-Jacquotte, R., Brutlag, D.L. & Brégégère, F. Conversion and reciprocal exchange between tandem repeats in Drosophila melanogaster . Molec. Gen. Genet. 220, 140–146 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00260868

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00260868

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