HOBO ENHANCER TRAPPING MUTAGENESIS IN DROSOPHILA REVEALS AN INSERTIONSPECIFICITY DIFFERENT FROM P-ELEMENTS

P element enhancer trapping has become an indispensable tool in the an alysis of the Drosophila melanogaster genome. However, there is great variation in the mutability of loci by these elements such that some l oci are relatively refractory to insertion. We have developed the hobo transposable element for use in enhancer trapping and we describe the results of a hobo enhancer trap screen. In addition, we present evide nce that a hobo enhancer trap element has a pattern of insertion into the genome that is different from the distribution of P elements in th e available database. Hence, hobo insertion may facilitate access to g enes resistant to P element insertion.