1. Mammalian genome evolution as a result of epigenetic regulation of transposable elements
- Author
-
David L. Adelson and Reuben M. Buckley
- Subjects
Transposable element ,Genome evolution ,Small RNA ,QH301-705.5 ,genome evolution ,Biology ,Genome ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,Epigenesis, Genetic ,Evolution, Molecular ,Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience ,Species Specificity ,Gene silencing ,Animals ,Humans ,Epigenetics ,Biology (General) ,Epigenesis ,Genetics ,Mammals ,epigenetics ,food and beverages ,General Medicine ,DNA Transposable Elements ,RNA, Small Untranslated ,transposable elements ,Reprogramming - Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) make up a large proportion of mammalian genomes and are a strong evolutionary force capable of rewiring regulatory networks and causing genome rearrangements. Additionally, there are many eukaryotic epigenetic defense mechanisms able to transcriptionally silence TEs. Furthermore, small RNA molecules that target TE DNA sequences often mediate these epigenetic defense mechanisms. As a result, epigenetic marks associated with TE silencing can be reestablished after epigenetic reprogramming – an event during the mammalian life cycle that results in widespread loss of parental epigenetic marks. Furthermore, targeted epigenetic marks associated with TE silencing may have an impact on nearby gene expression. Therefore, TEs may have driven species evolution via their ability to heritably alter the epigenetic regulation of gene expression in mammals.
- Published
- 2014