MEC: a transposable element from Chironomus thummi (diptera).

Two genomic clones, pC1.2 and p20D (containing inserts of 2.0 and 1.6 kb, respectively) were isolated from the A2b region to polytene chromosome IV of Chironomus thummi thummi salivary gland cells. Upon in situ hybridization to polytene chromosomes of C. thummi thummi and C. thummi piger, p20D DNA hybridized mainly over the A2b region of chromosome IV, whereas pC1.2 DNA hybridized to at least 90 sites distributed over all the chromosomes. A partial nucleotide sequence analysis showed that these clones were very similar and allowed the detection of a 596 bp insert in the pC1.2 clone. This insert possesses all of the essential features of a Class II transposable element and was called MEC. It carries a nearly perfect 107 bp terminal inverted repeat containing one mismatch and is flanked by a 5 bp direct repeat. The 372 bp central region contains a short open reading frame with a coding capacity of 58 amino acids.