Dispersed repeats in Drosophila virilis: elements mobilized by interspecific hybridization

A new class of moderately repetitive elements, designated the pDv sequences of Drosophila virilis , was cloned and molecularly analysed. The pDv elements occupy about 200 sites in the D. virilis genome. They are capable of transposition in interspecific hybrids. DNA sequence analysis revealed that the pDv element contains tandemly arranged 36 bp repeat units. In the present paper the authors describe the molecular features of a novel repeated DNA element of D. virilis which is different, at the sequence level, from all other mdg elements known in Drosophila.