title: Are transposable elements simply silenced or are they under house arrest?
abstract: Despite their role as key players in evolution, it is commonly thought that transposable elements are selected against and silenced. However, their importance in chromosomal biology and, therefore, cell division suggests that their presence in many eukaryote genomes is the result of their having been selected as major components of heterochromatin.
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Biémont
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D020868:Gene Silencing; D016678:Genome / Q000235:genetics; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D006570:Heterochromatin