A blessing in disguise: Transposable elements are more than parasites

Abstract

Transposable elements (TEs) are various DNA fragments inserted throughout genomes, which are able to move or duplicate themselves. Recent advances in genomics have placed them back at the center of genome dynamics. One of the emerging observations, especially in plants, is the importance of interactions between TEs and genes to generate or to participate in relevant functions essential for development, adaptation and/or life cycle. A recent publication illustrates the influence of TEs epigenetic control on the expression of a neighboring gene crucial for reproduction. Different reports lately showed that a fundamental mechanism such as imprinting is likely to be closely linked to the dynamics of TEs epigenetic control. Here we discuss and bring together these and others recent findings, to underline that the cis-vicinity or the trans-relation between TEs and genes could bring unexpected but positive outcomes.