CHARACTERIZATION OF SOYMAR1, A MARINER ELEMENT IN SOYBEAN

Mariner elements, a family of DNA-mediated transposable elements with short, inverted terminal repeats, have been reported in a wide variety of arthropods, as well as planarians, nematodes, and humans. No such element has been reported in a plant. Here we report a mariner element in the plant soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.). Although this sequence belongs to the mariner, family, it is clearly distinct from previousl y reported mariner-like elements, as well as from the Tcl transposon f amily. Novel aspects of its sequence could be useful as a starting poi nt to identify mariner-like elements in new organisms, and it may prov e useful in creating a transformation vector for plants.