Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Nowacki M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3491810 | biostudies-literature | 2009 May
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Nowacki Mariusz M Higgins Brian P BP Maquilan Genevieve M GM Swart Estienne C EC Doak Thomas G TG Landweber Laura F LF
Science (New York, N.Y.) 20090416 5929
Despite comprising much of the eukaryotic genome, few transposons are active, and they usually confer no benefit to the host. Through an exaggerated process of genome rearrangement, Oxytricha trifallax destroys 95% of its germline genome during development. This includes the elimination of all transposon DNA. We show that germline-limited transposase genes play key roles in this process of genome-wide DNA excision, which suggests that transposases function in large eukaryotic genomes containing ...[more]