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Activity and Silencing of Transposable Elements in C. elegans
Version 1
: Received: 14 February 2024 / Approved: 15 February 2024 / Online: 19 February 2024 (01:52:49 CET)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Fischer, S.E.J. Activity and Silencing of Transposable Elements in C. elegans. DNA 2024, 4, 129-141. Fischer, S.E.J. Activity and Silencing of Transposable Elements in C. elegans. DNA 2024, 4, 129-141.
Abstract
Since the discovery of transposable elements (TEs) in Maize in the 1940s by Barbara McClintock [1] transposable elements have been described as junk, as selfish elements with no benefit to the host, and more recently as major determinants of genome structure and genome evolution. TEs are DNA sequences that are capable of moving to new sites in the genome and make additional copies while doing so. To limit the propagation of TEs, host silencing mechanisms are directed at transposon-encoded genes that are required for mobilization. The mutagenic properties of TEs, the potential of TEs to form new genes and affect gene expression, together with the host silencing mechanisms shape eukaryotic genomes and drive genome evolution. While TEs constitute more than half of the genome in many higher eukaryotes, transposable elements in the nematode C. ele-gans form a relatively small proportion of genome, about 15% [2]. Genetic studies of transposon silencing and the discovery of RNAi in C. elegans, propelled C. elegans to the forefront of studies of RNA-based mechanisms that silence TEs. Here, I will review the transposable elements that are present and active in the C. elegans genome, and the host defense mechanisms that silence these elements.
Keywords
Transposable element (TE); RNA interference (RNAi); transposon; retrotransposon; silencing; small interfering RNA (siRNA); Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans); piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA)
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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