MsqTc3, a Tc3-like transposon in the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti

A novel transposon, MsqTc3-Aa, has been discovered in the yellow fever mosq uito, Aedes aegypti. Evidence of its past mobility is presented. There are approximately 100 copies of MsqTc3-Aa in A. aegypti, eight of which have be en isolated and sequenced. All sequenced copies are more than 99% identical to their consensus, indicating recent mobilization. The MsqTc3-Aa consensu s contains imperfect terminal inverted repeats (TIRs) and an open reading f rame (ORF) interrupted by an intron. Sequence, structural and phylogenetic analysis showed that MsqTc3-Aa is a distant relative of Tc3, an active tran sposon in Caenorhabditis elegans. These results may provide useful informat ion for the current effort to control mosquito-borne diseases using genetic approaches.