Recent LTR retrotransposon insertion contrasts with waves of non-LTR insertion since speciation in Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT: LTR and non-LTR retrotransposons exhibit distinct patterns of abundance within the Drosophila melanogaster genome, yet the causes of these differences remain unknown. Here we investigate whether genomic differences between LTR and non-LTR retrotransposons reflect systematic differences in their insertion history. We find that for 17 LTR and 10 non-LTR retrotransposon families that evolve under a pseudogene-like mode of evolution, most elements from LTR families have integrated in the very recent past since colonization of non-African habitats ( approximately 16,000 years ago), whereas elements from non-LTR families have been accumulating in overlapping waves since the divergence of D. melanogaster from its sister species, Drosophila simulans ( approximately 5.4 Mya). LTR elements are signi

SUBMITTER: Bergman CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2040900 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature