Inheritance of 5'-Truncated Copies of R2 Retrotransposon in a Series of Generations of German Cockroach, Blattella germanica

Abstract

Inheritance of 5'-truncated copies of R2 retrotransposon of German cockroach, Blattella germanica, was analyzed in a series of generations. It was shown that copies of certain length are linked and form different patterns associated with X chromosomes where R2 retrotransposons are normally localized within clusters of ribosomal genes and, unexpectedly with autosomes. There was no recombination between certain copies of different length, and new variants of 5'-truncated copies were not found. Taking into account the stable inheritance of particular patterns of various R2 5'-truncated copies, we suggest using them as convenient molecular markers in population genetics studies of German cockroach, Blattella germanica. It was also shown that only short degenerate DNA sequences of R2 retrotransposon were present outside the cluster of ribosomal genes; apparently, DNA sequences corresponding to native full-length copies and/or open reading frames of R2 retrotransposon are present only within the cluster.