Constitutive heterochromatin and transposable elements in Drosophila melanogaster |
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Authors: | Patrizio Dimitri |
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Institution: | (1) Dipartimento di Genetica e Biologia Molecolare, Università La Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy |
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Abstract: | Several families of transposable elements (TEs), most of them belonging to the retrotransposon catagory, are particularly
enriched in Drosophila melanogaster constitutive heterochromatin. The enrichment of TE-homologous sequences into heterochromatin
is not a peculiar feature of the Drosophila genome, but appears to be widespread among higher eukaryotes. The constitutive
heterochromatin of D. melanogaster contains several genetically active domains; this raises the possibility that TE-homologous
sequences inserted into functional heterochromatin compartments may be expressed. In this review, I present available data
on the genetic and molecular organization of D. melanogaster constitutive heterochromatin and its relationship with transposable
elements. The implications of these findings on the possible impact of heterochromatic TEs on the function and evolution of
the host genome are also discussed.
This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. |
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Keywords: | heterochomatin transposable elements Drosophila |
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