Protected P-element termini suggest a role for inverted-repeat-binding protein in transposase-induced gap repair in Drosophila melanogaster

A group of phenotypically weaker and stronger allelic derivatives of vg21, a vestigial mutant resulting from P-element insertion in the 5'region of the gene of Drosophila melanogaster, arise from internal deletion. The spectrum of the source and amount of P-element sequences in the derivatives vary with the selection scheme used. The incidence of breakpoints within the inverted-repeats results in the retention of the last 15-17 bp of the termini, which bind to the inverted-repeat-binding protein (IRBP). The P-element ends are preserved by the IRBP during double-strand gap generation due to transposition.