Analysis of mariner-like elements in the smaller tea tortrix, Adoxophyes honmai and the summer fruit tortrix, Adoxophyes orana fasciata (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

The mariner-like element (MLE) in two closely related leaf-roller moths, the smaller tea tortrix, Adoxophyes honmai and the summer fruit tortrix, Adoxophyes orana fasciata (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) were surveyed. By a series of PCR and Southern blotting experiments, there were at Least two types of MLEs in these two species. Sequence dissimilarity of each MLE suggests a possible polyphyletic origin and subsequent vertical inheritance within each species. In addition, a full-length MLE was isolated from a genomic library of A. honmai. This element, named Ahmar1, was 1,294 bp long with 27 bp inverted terminal repeats (ITRs). This element is apparently inactive due to a frameshift in the open reading frame (ORF) region, but a putative ORF could be observed by a single nucleotide removal, suggesting that the MLE in this species could have had the ability to transpose in the near past. Ahmar1 may be suitable as a transformation vector with slight modification.