The reconstruction of evolutionary dynamics of processed pseudogenes indicates deep silencing of "retrobiome" in naked mole rat.

ABSTRACT: Approximately half of mammalian genomes are occupied by retrotransposons, highly repetitive interspersed genetic elements expanded through the mechanism of reverse transcription. The evolution of this "retrobiome" involved a series of explosive amplifications, presumably associated with high mutation rates, interspersed with periods of silencing. A by-product of retrotransposon activity is the formation of processed pseudogenes (PPGs)-intron-less, promoter-less DNA copies of messenger RNA (mRNA). We examined the proportion of PPGs with varying degrees of deviation from their ancestor mRNAs as an indicator of the intensity of retrotranspositions at different times in the past. Our analysis revealed a high proportion of "young'' (recently acquired) PPGs in the DNA of mice and rats, indicatin

SUBMITTER: Kogan V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11551321 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature