Genetic Drift, Not Life History or RNAi, Determine Long-Term Evolution of Transposable Elements.

ABSTRACT: Transposable elements (TEs) are a major source of genome variation across the branches of life. Although TEs may play an adaptive role in their host's genome, they are more often deleterious, and purifying selection is an important factor controlling their genomic loads. In contrast, life history, mating system, GC content, and RNAi pathways have been suggested to account for the disparity of TE loads in different species. Previous studies of fungal, plant, and animal genomes have reported conflicting results regarding the direction in which these genomic features drive TE evolution. Many of these studies have had limited power, however, because they studied taxonomically narrow systems, comparing only a limited number of phylogenetically independent contrasts, and did not address long-ter

SUBMITTER: Szitenberg A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5635653 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature