Transposable Elements Direct The Coevolution between Plants and Microbes.

Transposable Elements Direct The Coevolution between Plants and Microbes.
Trends Genet. 2017 Aug 08;:
Authors: Seidl MF, Thomma BPHJ
Abstract
Transposable elements are powerful drivers of genome evolution in many eukaryotes. Although they are mostly considered as 'selfish' genetic elements, increasing evidence suggests that they contribute to genetic variability; particularly under stress conditions. Over the past few years, the role of transposable elements during host-microbe interactions has been recognised. It has been proposed that many pathogenic microbes have evolved a 'two-speed' genome with regions that show increased variability and that are enriched in transposable elements and pathogenicity-related genes. Plants similarly display structured genomes with transposable-element-rich regions that mediate accelerated evolution. Immune receptor genes typically reside in such regions. Various mechanisms have recently been identified through which transposable elements contribute to the coevolution between plants and their associated microbes.
PMID: 28800915 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Trends in Genetics : TIG - August 8, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Seidl MF, Thomma BPHJ Tags: Trends Genet Source Type: research