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Identification of an active LTR retrotransposon in rice
Author(s) -
Picault Nathalie,
Chaparro Christian,
Piegu Benoit,
Stenger Willfried,
Formey Damien,
Llauro Cristel,
Descombin Julie,
Sabot Francois,
Lasserre Eric,
Meynard Donaldo,
Guiderdoni Emmanuel,
Panaud Olivier
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the plant journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.058
H-Index - 269
eISSN - 1365-313X
pISSN - 0960-7412
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-313x.2009.03813.x
Subject(s) - retrotransposon , genome , transposable element , biology , mobile genetic elements , computational biology , genetics , phylogenetic tree , long terminal repeat , gene
Summary Transposable elements are ubiquitous components of plant genomes. When active, these mobile elements can induce changes in the genome at both the structural and functional levels. Availability of the complete genome sequence for several model plant species provides the opportunity to study TEs in plants at an unprecedented scale. In the case of rice, annotation of the genomic sequence of the variety Nipponbare has revealed that TE‐related sequences form more than 25% of its genome. However, most of the elements found are inactive, either because of structural alterations or because they are the target of various silencing pathways. In this paper, we propose a new post‐genomic strategy aimed at identifying active TEs. Our approach relies on transcript profiling of TE‐related sequences using a tiling microarray. We applied it to a particular class of TEs, the LTR retrotransposons. A transcript profiling assay of rice calli led to identification of a new transpositionally active family, named Lullaby . We provide a complete structural description of this element. We also show that it has recently been active in planta in rice, and discuss its phylogenetic relationships with Tos17 , the only other active LTR retrotransposon described so far in the species.