Britten R J
Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, USA.
Mol Phylogenet Evol. 1996 Feb;5(1):13-7. doi: 10.1006/mpev.1996.0003.
There is no doubt that mobile elements are a major source of mutation and that in many cases insertions cause changes in the expression of genes, but a question remains open. What has the long-term effect of these processes been? The data collected here show that in many eukaryotes, segments of repetitive DNA (mobile elements) that have been inserted in the past in regions of many eukaryote genes have been preserved by selection and now affect the transcriptional control of these specific genes. At least five of the examples are considered to be solid cases demonstrating this history. There are a number of significant but less compelling sets of evidence that support the concept that the insertion of mobile elements in gene regions could be a major source of regulatory variation in evolution.
毫无疑问，移动元件是突变的主要来源，并且在许多情况下，插入会导致基因表达的变化，但一个问题仍然悬而未决。这些过程的长期影响是什么？此处收集的数据表明，在许多真核生物中，过去插入到许多真核生物基因区域的重复DNA片段（移动元件）已通过选择得以保留，现在影响着这些特定基因的转录调控。至少有五个例子被认为是证明这一历史的可靠案例。有许多重要但不那么有说服力的证据支持这样的观点，即基因区域中移动元件的插入可能是进化中调控变异的主要来源。
