Transposable element evolution in Heliconius suggests genome diversity within Lepidoptera.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Transposable elements (TEs) have the potential to impact genome structure, function and evolution in profound ways. In order to understand the contribution of transposable elements (TEs) to Heliconius melpomene, we queried the H. melpomene draft sequence to identify repetitive sequences.

Results

We determined that TEs comprise ~25% of the genome. The predominant class of TEs (~12% of the genome) was the non-long terminal repeat (non-LTR) retrotransposons, including a novel SINE family. However, this was only slightly higher than content derived from DNA transposons, which are diverse, with several families having mobilized in the recent past. Compared to the only other well-studied lepidopteran genome, Bombyx mori, H. melpomene exhibits a higher DNA transposon con

SUBMITTER: Lavoie CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4016481 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature