title: The biology and evolution of transposable elements in parasites.
abstract: Transposable elements (TEs) are dynamic elements that can reshape host genomes by generating rearrangements with the potential to create or disrupt genes, to shuffle existing genes, and to modulate their patterns of expression. In the genomes of parasites that infect mammals several TEs have been identified that probably have been maintained throughout evolution due to their contribution to gene function and regulation of gene expression. This review addresses how TEs are organized, how they colonize the genomes of mammalian parasites, the functional role these elements play in parasite biology, and the interactions between these elements and the parasite genome.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Molecular, Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina López Neyra - CSIC, Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud, 18100 Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: M Carmen
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Macias
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.forename: Manuel C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: López
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D049751:Genome, Helminth; D018503:Genome, Protozoan; D010271:Parasites / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements