title: Transposable elements as genetic regulatory substrates in early development.
abstract: The abundance and ancient origins of transposable elements (TEs) in eukaryotic genomes has spawned research into the potential symbiotic relationship between these elements and their hosts. In this review, we introduce the diversity of TEs, discuss how distinct classes are uniquely regulated in development, and describe how they appear to have been coopted for the purposes of gene regulation and the orchestration of a number of processes during early embryonic development. Although young, active TEs play an important role in somatic tissues and evolution, we focus mostly on the contributions of the older, fixed elements in mammalian genomes. We also discuss major challenges inherent in the study of TEs and contemplate future experimental approaches to further investigate how they coordinate developmental processes.
authors: Gene Expression Laboratory and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors: Wesley D
authors: WD
authors: Gifford
authors: Samuel L
authors: SL
authors: Pfaff
authors: Todd S
authors: TS
authors: Macfarlan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000502:physiology*; D020077:Endogenous Retroviruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005814:Genes, Viral / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D020084:Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements / Q000502:physiology; D008322:Mammals / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D010920:Placenta / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D018626:Retroelements / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D018626:Retroelements