Institute of Infection, Veterinary, and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet. 2024 Aug;25(1):1-25. doi: 10.1146/annurev-genom-120822-105708. Epub 2024 Aug 6.
Transposable elements (TEs) are genomic parasites found in nearly all eukaryotes, including humans. This evolutionary success of TEs is due to their replicative activity, involving insertion into new genomic locations. TE activity varies at multiple levels, from between taxa to within individuals. The rapidly accumulating evidence of the influence of TE activity on human health, as well as the rapid growth of new tools to study it, motivated an evaluation of what we know about TE activity thus far. Here, we discuss why TE activity varies, and the consequences of this variation, from an evolutionary perspective. By studying TE activity in nonhuman organisms in the context of evolutionary theories, we can shed light on the factors that affect TE activity. While the consequences of TE activity are usually deleterious, some have lasting evolutionary impacts by conferring benefits on the host or affecting other evolutionary processes.
转座元件（TEs）是几乎所有真核生物（包括人类）中发现的基因组寄生虫。TEs 的这种进化成功归因于它们的复制活性，包括插入新的基因组位置。TE 活性在多个层次上变化，从分类群之间到个体内部。TE 活性对人类健康的影响的证据迅速积累，以及研究它的新工具的快速发展，促使我们评估迄今为止我们对 TE 活性的了解。在这里，我们从进化的角度讨论为什么 TE 活性会发生变化，以及这种变化的后果。通过在进化理论的背景下研究非人类生物中的 TE 活性，我们可以揭示影响 TE 活性的因素。虽然 TE 活性的后果通常是有害的，但有些通过赋予宿主益处或影响其他进化过程而产生持久的进化影响。
