DROSOPHILA TELOMERE TRANSPOSON HET-A PRODUCES A TRANSCRIPT WITH TIGHTLY BOUND PROTEIN

Telomeres from Drosophila appear to be very different from those of ot her organisms. A transposable element, HeT-A, plays a major role in fo rming telomeres and may be the sole structural element, since telomera se-generated repeats are not found. The structure of the HeT-A element , deduced from cloned fragments of DNA, suggests that transposition of the element is mediated by a polyadenylylated RNA intermediate. We no w report analyses of HeT-A transcripts, The major RNA is of the approp riate size and strandedness to serve as a transposition intermediate. This RNA is found in cultured cells and in intact flies and is unusual in that it is associated with protein after treatments that apparentl y remove all protein from other RNAs.