title: Transposable elements as introns: evolutionary connections.
abstract: Recent molecular genetic studies demonstrate that many transposable elements, when inserted into nuclear genes, can behave as introns and create novel intron processing patterns. These studies point to possible mechanisms by which transposable element insertions participate in the evolutionary diversification of gene structure, the rise of alternative splicing patterns and the production of novel regulatory interactions. Moreover, they provide us with fresh insights into the evolutionary dynamics of these mobile sequences.
authors.affiliation: Michael Purugganan is at the Dept of Botany, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Purugganan