Elements transposables, de l'excepció a la norma

Authors

  • Ferran Casals

Abstract

Transposable elements are sequences with the ability to change their position in the genome. They are very abundant, representing up to 50% of the sequence in the case of the human genome. In spite of their high diversity they can be grouped into two big classes, according to their mechanism of mobilization. They are essentially considered to be intracellular parasites, with a great ability to replicate and to avoid elimination by the host. Besides mobilizing inside the genome and being vertically transmitted to descendants, several transposable elements have been able to cross the species borders, horizontally transmitting across genomes. Genetics has developed different methods to detect transposable elements in genome sequences, as well as to study their behavior within and between species. In some cases genomes have been able to domesticate some of them, those that are developing cellular functions. Finally, they are a source of variability, the raw material for the evolution of species.

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Published

2009-04-22