Dynamic Interactions Between the Genome and an Endogenous Retrovirus: Tirant in Drosophila simulans Wild-Type Strains.

ABSTRACT: All genomes contain repeated sequences that are known as transposable elements (TEs). Among these are endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), which are sequences similar to retroviruses and are transmitted across generations from parent to progeny. These sequences are controlled in genomes through epigenetic mechanisms. At the center of the epigenetic control of TEs are small interfering RNAs of the piRNA class, which trigger heterochromatinization of TE sequences. The tirant ERV of Drosophila simulans displays intra-specific variability in copy numbers, insertion sites, and transcription levels, providing us with a well-suited model to study the dynamic relationship between a TE family and the host genome through epigenetic mechanisms. We show that tirant transcript amounts a

SUBMITTER: Fablet M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6404621 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature