Improving gene transfer technology in fish by transposable elements (Miglioramento della tecnologie di trasferimento genico in specie ittiche mediante l'uso di elementi trasponibili)

Transposable elements are genetic elements capable of moving from one chromosomal location to another. They carry a gene encoding the enzyme for their own transposition (transposase) and flanking sequences required for recognition by the transposase. Transposable elements of the Tc1/mariner family are widely distributed in the animal kingdom, probably due to horizontal transmission among different species. To increase the efficiency of foreign DNA integration in fish, we are using one of these elements, namely Bari-1 from Drosophila melanogaster, to set up new transformation vectors for gene delivery into fish genomes