PIF-like  elements are the first-described members of a recently discovered and  widespread superfamily of DNA transposons, named PIF/Harbinger. Complete  and partial PIF-like elements have been isolated from hundreds of plant  species. Previously, we identified 139 partial PIF-like transposases in  the Bambusoideae, of which three were from the bamboo species Phyllostachys  pubescens. Here we report identification and isolation of the first  full-length PIF-like element (PpPIF-1) from P. pubescens;  identification was made by chromosome walking, based on a modified magnetic  enrichment procedure that allows efficient cloning of flanking sequences up to  3 kb in length. PpPIF-1 is 5953 bp in length, with 20-bp imperfect  inverted terminal repeats and 3-bp target site duplications. This element  contains two open reading frames, one encoding a putative transposase,  including the complete DDE-domain typical of PIF/Harbinger elements from  plants, and the other encoding a DNA-binding protein. There are seven  termination codons and two frameshift mutations in the open reading frames,  probably due to vertical inactivation.
Amino Acid Sequence Bambusa