Rocheta Margarida, Carvalho Luísa, Viegas Wanda, Morais-Cecílio Leonor
Centro de Botânica Aplicada à Agricultura, Departamento de Recursos Naturais, Ambiente e Território, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Portugal.
BMC Res Notes. 2012 Aug 13;5:432. doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-5-432.
Transposable elements (TEs) make up a large part of eukaryotic genomes. Due to their repetitive nature and to the fact that they harbour regulatory signals, TEs can be responsible for chromosomal rearrangements, movement of gene sequences and evolution of gene regulation and function. Retrotransposon ubiquity raises the question about their function in genomes and most are transcriptionally inactive due to rearrangements that compromise their activity. However, the activity of TEs is currently considered to have been one of the major processes in genome evolution.
We report on the characterization of a transcriptionally active gypsy-like retrotransposon (named Corky) from Quercus suber, in a comparative and quantitative study of expression levels in different tissues and distinct developmental stages through RT-qPCR. We observed Corky's differential transcription levels in all the tissues analysed.
These results document that Corky's transcription levels are not constant. Nevertheless, they depend upon the developmental stage, the tissue analysed and the potential occurring events during an individuals' life span. This modulation brought upon by different developmental and environmental influences suggests an involvement of Corky in stress response and during development.
转座元件（TEs）构成了真核生物基因组的很大一部分。由于其重复性质以及它们含有调控信号，TEs 可能导致染色体重排、基因序列移动以及基因调控和功能的进化。逆转座子的普遍存在引发了关于它们在基因组中功能的问题，并且由于重排损害了它们的活性，大多数逆转座子转录不活跃。然而，目前认为 TEs 的活性是基因组进化的主要过程之一。
我们通过 RT-qPCR 对不同组织和不同发育阶段的表达水平进行比较和定量研究，报告了来自栓皮栎的一种转录活跃的类吉普赛逆转座子（命名为 Corky）的特征。我们在所有分析的组织中观察到了 Corky 的差异转录水平。
这些结果证明 Corky 的转录水平并非恒定不变。然而，它们取决于发育阶段、所分析的组织以及个体生命周期中可能发生的事件。由不同发育和环境影响所带来的这种调节表明 Corky 参与了应激反应和发育过程。
