Horizontal Transposon Transfer and Its Implications for the Ancestral Ecology of Hydrophiine Snakes.

ABSTRACT: Transposable elements (TEs), also known as jumping genes, are sequences able to move or copy themselves within a genome. As TEs move throughout genomes they often act as a source of genetic novelty, hence understanding TE evolution within lineages may help in understanding environmental adaptation. Studies into the TE content of lineages of mammals such as bats have uncovered horizontal transposon transfer (HTT) into these lineages, with squamates often also containing the same TEs. Despite the repeated finding of HTT into squamates, little comparative research has examined the evolution of TEs within squamates. Here we examine a diverse family of Australo-Melanesian snakes (Hydrophiinae) to examine if the previously identified, order-wide pattern of variable TE content and activity holds

SUBMITTER: Galbraith JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8872380 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature