Functional opsin retrogene in nocturnal moth.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Retrotransposed genes are different to other types of genes as they originate from a processed mRNA and are then inserted back into the genome. For a long time, the contribution of this mechanism to the origin of new genes, and hence to the evolutionary process, has been questioned as retrogenes usually lose their regulatory sequences upon insertion and generally decay into pseudogenes. In recent years, there is growing evidence, notably in mammals, that retrotransposition is an important process driving the origin of new genes, but the evidence in insects remains largely restricted to a few model species.

Findings

By sequencing the messenger RNA of three developmental stages (first and fifth instar larvae and adults) of the pest Helicoverpa armigera, we id

SUBMITTER: Xu P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5070202 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature