Interplasmid transposition of the piggyBac element in embryos of the honey bee, Apis mellifera

The transposable element piggyBac, which has been recognized as a useful gene vector, is a successful germ-line transformation of several insect species. The transpositional activity of piggyBac was tested by using interplasmid transposition assays to create transgenic honey bees Apis mellifera. We compared the transpositional frequency of three promoters: ieI;hsp70; and CMV within honey bee embryos. All the promoters that were tested within the embryos were shown to be mobile by the piggyBac transposase. In addition, the Hr5/IEI enhancer-transactivator in combination with the ieI promoter showed a high level of transposition compared to the other promoters. These results suggest that the piggyBac element is an effective vector in germline transformation of honey bees.