Previously, only partial P element sequences have been reported in the saltans group of Drosophila but in this paper we report two complete P element sequences from Drosophila sturtevanti and Drosophila prosaltans. The divergence of these sequences from the canonical P element of Drosophila melanogaster is about 31% at the nucleotide level. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that both elements belong to a clade of divergent sequences from the saltans and willistoni groups previously described by other authors.

The aim of this report was to detect full-sized P element sequences in eight strains of Drosophila sturtevanti populations from distant geographic regions and to assess the structural geographic variation among P element sequences. PCR analysis confirmed the presence of a putative complete P element in all strains. Southern blot analysis indicated bands shared by all strains, and bands restricted to geographically related strains. Parsimony analysis corroborated the hybridization pattern that reflected the geographic relationships.