Alexandros BOUSIOS The role of transposable elements in the function and evolution of plant genomes
invité par Vincent COLOT - Section Ecologie et Biologie de l’Evolution
12h
Le séminaire d’Aexandros BOUSIOS (University of Sussex, UK) aura lieu dans la salle Favard, IBENS 46 rue d’Ulm 75005 Paris
The majority of eukaryotic DNA is composed of transposable elements (TEs), short DNA sequences (<20kb) that can duplicate independently of the cell’s replication cycle and move between chromosomal locations. As a result of their activity over evolutionary time, TEs comprise 50% of the human genome and up to 80-90% of the genome of plants. TEs were originally regarded as selfish or junk DNA, but now their relationship with their host is regarded as complex with aspects of conflict, cooperation and cooption. Several studies have linked TEs to diseases, to the rewiring of host regulatory networks, and to the emergence of important phenotypic traits. It is clear that TEs are key drivers of evolution, but there are still many aspects of their interactions with their hosts that are not well understood. This seminar will cover recent projects in the lab that explore the role of TEs in the function and evolution of centromeres, in the creation of new introns, and as mediators of fractionation after genome duplication.