Transposable Elements in the Evolution of Gene Regulatory Networks

Abstract

Over the past decade, there has been an active study of the interactions between the population of transposable elements (TEs) and the rest of the genome. Many regulatory sequences of TEs have been used for different genes regulation and genome organization. These regulatory sequences can be transcription factor binding sites, enhancers, and insulators. TEs may contain promoters that can be domesticated during substitution of original gene promoters or during de novo formation of long noncoding RNAs. In addition, there are many examples of domestication of TE-encoded proteins, for example, transposases, proteases, and Gag proteins. This review highlights the role of TEs in the evolution of gene regulatory networks and the principles determining it.