Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK.
Mob DNA. 2013 Apr 3;4(1):13. doi: 10.1186/1759-8753-4-13.
Transposable elements (TEs) are a very dynamic component of eukaryotic genomes with important implications (e.g., in evolution) and applications (e.g., as transgenic tools). They also represent a major challenge for the assembly and annotation of genomic sequences. However, they are still largely unknown in non-model species.
Here, we have annotated the repeats and transposable elements present in a 600 kb genomic region of the blowfly Calliphora vicina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) which contains most of the achaete-scute gene complex of this species. This is the largest genomic region to be sequenced and analyzed in higher flies outside the Drosophila genus. We find that the repeat content spans at least 24% of the sequence. It includes 318 insertions classified as 3 LTR retrotransposons, 21 LINEs, 14 cut-and-paste DNA transposons, 4 helitrons and 33 unclassified repeats.
This is the most detailed description of TEs and repeats in the Calliphoridae to date. This contribution not only adds to our knowledge about TE evolution but will also help in the annotation of repeats on Dipteran whole genome sequences.
转座元件（TEs）是真核基因组中非常活跃的组成部分，具有重要意义（例如在进化中）和应用（例如作为转基因工具）。它们也是组装和注释基因组序列的主要挑战。然而，在非模式物种中，它们在很大程度上仍然未知。
在这里，我们注释了丽蝇 Calliphora vicina（双翅目：Calliphoridae）的 600kb 基因组区域中存在的重复序列和转座元件，该区域包含该物种的 achaete-scute 基因复合物的大部分。这是在果蝇属之外的高等蝇类中测序和分析的最大基因组区域。我们发现，重复序列的含量至少占序列的 24%。它包括 318 个插入序列，分为 3 个 LTR 反转录转座子、21 个 LINEs、14 个剪接粘贴 DNA 转座子、4 个 helitrons 和 33 个未分类的重复序列。
这是迄今为止对丽蝇科中 TEs 和重复序列的最详细描述。这一贡献不仅增加了我们对 TE 进化的认识，还有助于在双翅目全基因组序列上注释重复序列。
