An endogenous retroviral element co-opts an upstream regulatory sequence to achieve somatic expression and mobility.

ABSTRACT: Retrotransposons, multi-copy sequences that propagate via copy-and-paste mechanisms, occupy large portions of eukaryotic genomes. A great majority of their manifold copies remain silenced in somatic cells; nevertheless, some are transcribed, often in a tissue-specific manner, and a small fraction retains its ability to mobilize. While it is well characterized that retrotransposon sequences may provide cis-regulatory elements for neighboring genes, how their own expression and mobility are achieved is not well understood. Here, using long-read DNA sequencing, we characterize somatic retrotransposition in the Drosophila intestine. We show that retroelement mobility does not change significantly upon aging and is limited to very few active sub-families. Importantly, we identify a donor locus

SUBMITTER: Rubanova N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12168068 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature