title: Regulatory activities of transposable elements: from conflicts to benefits.
abstract: Transposable elements (TEs) are a prolific source of tightly regulated, biochemically active non-coding elements, such as transcription factor-binding sites and non-coding RNAs. Many recent studies reinvigorate the idea that these elements are pervasively co-opted for the regulation of host genes. We argue that the inherent genetic properties of TEs and the conflicting relationships with their hosts facilitate their recruitment for regulatory functions in diverse genomes. We review recent findings supporting the long-standing hypothesis that the waves of TE invasions endured by organisms for eons have catalysed the evolution of gene-regulatory networks. We also discuss the challenges of dissecting and interpreting the phenotypic effect of regulatory activities encoded by TEs in health and disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah 84103, USA.
authors.forename: Edward B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Chuong
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah 84103, USA.
authors.forename: Nels C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Elde
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah 84103, USA.
authors.forename: Cédric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Feschotte
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements