Summary
In light of previous data, which suggested thatAc-like sequences might have undergone a significant radiation in the recent past, I examined the copy number ofAc-like sequences in representatives of all theZea taxa, both maize and teosinte. The maize and teosinte samples contained approximately equal numbers ofAc-like sequences. FewAc-like sequences were in unmethylated regions of DNA. Unmethylated elements were distributed randomly among both maize and teosinte lines. The appearance in a line of a discrete band resulting from digestion with one methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme was correlated with the appearance of discrete bands with other methylation-sensitive bands. This suggests that individualAc-like elements are occasionally demethylated in many sites. No unmethylated element having restriction fragments of the lengths predicted from the publishedAc sequence was seen in the approximately 326 elements examined.
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Johns, M.A. Sequences related to the maize transposable elementAc in the genusZea . J Mol Evol 30, 493–499 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02101104
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02101104