title: The impact of transposable elements on mammalian development.
abstract: Despite often being classified as selfish or junk DNA, transposable elements (TEs) are a group of abundant genetic sequences that have a significant impact on mammalian development and genome regulation. In recent years, our understanding of how pre-existing TEs affect genome architecture, gene regulatory networks and protein function during mammalian embryogenesis has dramatically expanded. In addition, the mobilization of active TEs in selected cell types has been shown to generate genetic variation during development and in fully differentiated tissues. Importantly, the ongoing domestication and evolution of TEs appears to provide a rich source of regulatory elements, functional modules and genetic variation that fuels the evolution of mammalian developmental processes. Here, we review the functional impact that TEs exert on mammalian developmental processes and discuss how the somatic activity of TEs can influence gene regulatory networks.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK jose.garcia-perez@igmm.ed.ac.uk ian.adams@igmm.ed.ac.uk.|Department of Genomic Medicine, GENYO, Centre for Genomics & Oncology (Pfizer - University of Granada & Andalusian Regional Government), PTS Granada, Avda. de la Ilustración 114, Granada 18016, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose L
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8132-9849
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Garcia-Perez
authors.affiliation: Department of Genomic Medicine, GENYO, Centre for Genomics & Oncology (Pfizer - University of Granada & Andalusian Regional Government), PTS Granada, Avda. de la Ilustración 114, Granada 18016, Spain.
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Widmann
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK jose.garcia-perez@igmm.ed.ac.uk ian.adams@igmm.ed.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ian R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Adams
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000502:physiology*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D014644:Genetic Variation; D048788:Growth and Development / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008322:Mammals / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements
keywords: Endogenous retrovirus; Genetic variation; Genome regulation; LINE-1; Retrotransposon