Abstract
The biology of transposable elements (TEs) is a fascinating and complex field of investigation. TEs represent a substantial fraction of many eukaryotic genomes and can influence many aspects of DNA function that range from the evolution of genetic information to duplication, stability, and gene expression. Their ability to move inside the genome has been largely recognized as a double-edged sword, as both useful and deleterious effects can result. A fundamental role has been played by the evolution of the molecular processes needed to properly control the expression of TEs. Today, we are far removed from the original reductive vision of TEs as “junk DNA”, and are more convinced that TEs represent an essential element in the regulation of gene expression. In this review, we summarize some of the more recent findings, mainly in the animal kingdom, concerning the active roles that TEs play at every level of gene expression regulation, including chromatin modification, splicing, and protein translation.
Highlights
The mobile genetic elements known as transposable elements (TEs) were discovered in the late 1940s thanks to Barbara McClintock’s [1,2] seminal work on maize, a discovery that revolutionized the previous view of genes as stable entities on chromosomes
The expression of sense transcripts may be mediated by NATs through double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) formations, that can participate in the RNA interference or adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR) pathways
The mammalian thymopoietin (TMPO) and zinc finger protein 451 (ZNF451) genes both code for splice isoforms containing lamina-associated polypeptide 2alpha (LAP2alpha) domains, which are related to the first ORF from a Dictyostelium intermediate repeat sequence 1 (DIRS1)-like retrotransposon
Summary
The mobile genetic elements known as transposable elements (TEs) were discovered in the late 1940s thanks to Barbara McClintock’s [1,2] seminal work on maize, a discovery that revolutionized the previous view of genes as stable entities on chromosomes. TEs are an important driving force in genome evolution, and bursts of TEs have been connected with significant evolutionary events such as the speciation process [3]. TEs are DNA fragments that have the ability to mobilize within a host genome, often creating new copies of themselves during the mobilization process
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