title: Transposable elements as tools for reshaping the genome: it is a huge world after all!
abstract: Transposable elements (TEs) are discrete pieces of DNA that can move from one site to another within genomes and sometime between genomes. They are found in all major branches of life. Because of their wide distribution and considerable diversity, they are a considerable source of genomic variation and as such, they constitute powerful drivers of genome evolution. Moreover, it is becoming clear that the epigenetic regulation of certain genes is derived from defense mechanisms against the activity of ancestral transposable elements. TEs now tend to be viewed as natural molecular tools that can reshape the genome, which challenges the idea that TEs are natural tools used to answer biological questions. In the first part of this chapter, we review the classification and distribution of TEs, and look at how they have contributed to the structural and transcriptional reshaping of genomes. In the second part, we describe methodological innovations that have modified their contribution as molecular tools.
authors.affiliation: GICC, UMR CNRS 6239, Université François Rabelais, UFR des Sciences et Technques, Tours, France.
authors.forename: Solenne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bire
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rouleux-Bonnin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D005819:Genetic Markers; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D016678:Genome; D006801:Humans; D016296:Mutagenesis; D019076:Transgenes
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D005819:Genetic Markers