Title

Insights into mammalian TE diversity through the curation of 248 genome assemblies.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-28-2023

Publication Title

Science

Keywords

washington; seattle; isb; genomics; Animals; Female; Pregnancy; DNA Transposable Elements; Evolution, Molecular; Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements; Eutheria; Datasets as Topic; Feeding Behavior; Genetic Variation

Abstract

We examined transposable element (TE) content of 248 placental mammal genome assemblies, the largest de novo TE curation effort in eukaryotes to date. We found that although mammals resemble one another in total TE content and diversity, they show substantial differences with regard to recent TE accumulation. This includes multiple recent expansion and quiescence events across the mammalian tree. Young TEs, particularly long interspersed elements, drive increases in genome size, whereas DNA transposons are associated with smaller genomes. Mammals tend to accumulate only a few types of TEs at any given time, with one TE type dominating. We also found association between dietary habit and the presence of DNA transposon invasions. These detailed annotations will serve as a benchmark for future comparative TE analyses among placental mammals.

Department

Institute for Systems Biology

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