title: Helitrons on a roll: eukaryotic rolling-circle transposons.
abstract: Rolling-circle eukaryotic transposons, known as Helitron transposons, were first discovered in plants (Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa) and in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. To date, Helitrons have been identified in a diverse range of species, from protists to mammals. They represent a major class of eukaryotic transposons and are fundamentally different from classical transposons in terms of their structure and mechanism of transposition. Helitrons seem to have a major role in the evolution of host genomes. They frequently capture diverse host genes, some of which can evolve into novel host genes or become essential for helitron transposition.
authors.affiliation: Genetic Information Research Institute, 1925 Landings Drive, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA. vladimir@girinst.org
authors.forename: Vladimir V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Kapitonov
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jurka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D020440:Gene Duplication; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016678:Genome; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D008957:Models, Genetic
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements