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For the first time, mariner elements were found in insect parasitic nematodes. Full-length elements were isolated from the rhabditid Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. They were 1279 bp long, flanked by two 30-bp inverted repeats, and were able to encode a putative 358-amino acid transposase. These elements were present in about 30 copies in the H. bacteriophora genome, but their distribution among closely related Heterorhabditis and Steinernema genera was patchy. DNA and encoded peptide sequences of H. bacteriophora mariners showed greater similarity to the mariner of the coleopteran Carpelimus sp. than to the mariners of the rhabditid Caenorhabditis elegans. The possibility of horizontal transfer was investigated by examination of a host for Heterorhabditis nematodes, a beetle of the Phyllophaga sp. Mariner elements were found in this insect, but they were not very similar to the H. bacteriophora elements. Finally, the H. bacteriophora mariners formed a group with those of invertebrates, suggesting vertical transmission from a common ancestor.

An AluI satellite DNA family has been cloned from the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis indicus. This repeated sequence appears to be an unusually abundant satellite DNA, since it constitutes about 45% of the H. indicus genome. The consensus sequence is 174 nucleotides long and has an A + T content of 56%, with the presence of direct and inverted repeat clusters. DNA sequence data reveal that monomers are quite homogeneous. Such homogeneity suggests that some mechanism is acting to maintain the homogeneity of this satellite DNA, despite its abundance, or that this repeated sequence could have appeared recently in the genome of H. indicus. Hybridization analysis of genomic DNAs from different Heterorhabditis species shows that this satellite DNA sequence is specific to the H. indicus genome. Considering the species specificity and the high copy number of this AluI satellite DNA sequence, it could provide a rapid and powerful tool for identifying H. indicus strains.Key words: AluI repeated DNA, tandem repeats, species-specific sequence, nucleotide sequence analysis.

The Juan elements belong to a family of reiterated sequences scattered through the genome of Culex mosquitoes. The nucleotide sequence of three Juan copies has been determined. The results show that the Juan elements are truncated retroposon-like elements belonging to LINEs.

To have a better understanding of the evolutionary history of mobile elements within the nematodes, we examined the distribution and the conservation of homologues to transposable elements from Caenorhabditis elegans (Tc1, Tc2, Tc3, Tc4, Tc5, and FB1) in 19 nematode species belonging to the class Secernentea. Our results show that Tc1 elements display a distribution restricted to the family Rhabditidae with poor conservation. The Tc2 and FB1 homologous elements have the same patchy distribution within the Rhabditidae. They were only found in Caenorhabditis and in Teratorhabditis. The Tc3 element is widely distributed among nematode species. Tc3 homologous elements are present in the majority of the Rhabditidae but also in two genera within the family Panagrolaimidae, and in Bursaphelenchus, which belongs to the order Aphelenchida. Tc4 and Tc5 homologues show the most limited distribution of all tested elements, being strictly limited to C. elegans. These data indicate that in some cases, the distribution of transposable elements in the nematode cannot be explained by strict vertical transmission. The distribution of Tc3, Tc4, and Tc5 suggests that horizontal transmission may have occurred between reproductively isolated species during their evolutionary history.

Organophosphorus insecticide (OP) resistance in several Culex species is associated with increased esterase activity resulting from amplification of the corresponding structural gene. In Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus, high levels of OP resistance (approximately 800 times) are due to the esterase B1 gene, which is amplified at least 250-fold. This gene has now been sequenced, and the structure of the amplification unit (amplicon) encompassing the structural gene has been partially characterized. The inferred amino acid sequence of the enzyme revealed regions of strong homology with other eukaryotic serine-esterases, such as cholinesterases, which are the target of OPs. The amplicon covers at least 30 kilobases and contains a constant and highly conserved "core" of 25 kilobases. This core carries a single copy of the esterase gene (2.8 kilobases) as well as other sequences that are present as single or low number copies in the genomes of mosquitoes lacking overproduction of the esterase B1 protein. In the amplicon, the esterase gene is framed by two DNA sequences that are repeated in other parts of the genome of resistant mosquitoes and found in the genome of susceptible mosquitoes but not near the esterase B1 gene. It is suggested that these repetitive sequences may have a role in the amplification process.