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Chapter 6 - Genes Are Not the Whole Story: Retrotransposons as New Determinants of Male Fertility

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 December 2022

By
Patricia Fauque  and
Déborah Bourc’his
Edited by
Stéphane Viville  and
Karen D. Sermon
Stéphane Viville
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Génétique Médicale de Strasbourg and Laboratoire de diagnostic génétique, Strasbourg
Karen D. Sermon
Affiliation:
Reproduction and Genetics Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
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Summary

The release of the human genome sequence has revealed that our genes represent only a minor fraction, with exons making up less than 2% of our DNA. In contrast, transposable elements represent some 45% of the genomic mass. Contrary to other species such as Drosophila or plants, these elements are not clustered in specific chromosomal regions in mammals, but are rather scattered throughout the genome, residing between but also inside genes. The transposon landscape of our genome reflects an evolutionary tug-of-war between integration and propagation events orchestrated by these elements, and counteracting defense mechanisms exerted by the host.

Type
Chapter
Information
Textbook of Human Reproductive Genetics , pp. 83 - 98
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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