Integrating networks and comparative genomics reveals retroelement proliferation dynamics in hominid genomes.

ABSTRACT: Retroelements (REs) are mobile DNA sequences that multiply and spread throughout genomes by a copy-and-paste mechanism. These parasitic elements are active in diverse genomes, from yeast to humans, where they promote diversity, cause disease, and accelerate evolution. Because of their high copy number and sequence similarity, studying their activity and tracking their proliferation dynamics is a challenge. It is particularly difficult to pinpoint the few REs in a genome that are still active in the haystack of degenerate and suppressed elements. We develop a computational framework based on network theory that tracks the path of RE proliferation throughout evolution. We analyze SVA (SINE-VNTR-Alu), the youngest RE family in human genomes, to understand RE dynamics across hominids. Integrat

SUBMITTER: Levy O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5640379 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature