Absence of close-facing retrotransposons: A comparison of molecular data and theory

作者：Bousios Alexandros; Waxman David; Pearce Stephen R^*

来源：Journal of Theoretical Biology, 2010, 264(2): 205-210.

DOI：10.1016/j.jtbi.2009.11.014

• Genome structure
• Retroelement
• Non-coding DNA
• Copy number
• Distribution

Retrotransposons occur in extremely large numbers in many eukaryotic genomes. However, little is known of the factors which affect the distribution of close proximity elements. In this work we investigate the frequency of close facing retrotransposons in a plant species with extremely high numbers of retrotransposons. Molecular observations are compared with predictions of a mathematical model that assumes a uniform probability of retrotransposon insertion into the genome. The mathematical model plays the role of a null hypothesis. We find that compared with the predictions of the model, there is a statistically significant deficit of identical copies of facing retroelements that are close to one another. This suggests that an efficient mechanism exists that removes or limits close facing retroelements.

• 出版日期2010-5-21