From Chromosomes To Mobile Genetic Elements

Mobile Genetic Elements introduces the nonspecialist to the biology and genetics of mobile elements. It attempts to make the biochemistry of DNA rearrangements more accessible to embryologists and evolutionists, and to illuminate the related developmental cycles to the biochemist. The book also shows how natural the activity of mobile elements can be in diverse biological situations. The chapters describe several well-studied cases in which genetic determinants—often identified as specific nucleic acid sequences—repeatedly change their positions within or between cellular genomes. Because their genomic positions are not fixed, these determinants may conveniently be classed together under the rubric of mobile genetic elements. The book begins with a discussion of maize controlling elements. This is followed by separate chapters on the bacteriophages ? and Mu; nonviral mobile elements in bacteria; transposable Ty elements in brewer's yeast; Drosophila transposable element; and hybrid dysgenesis. Subsequent chapters cover vertebrate retroviruses; Agrobacterium oncogenesis in plants; flagellar phase variation in Salmonella; yeast mating type; and surface antigenic variation in trypanosomes.

The human genome, as with the genome of most organisms, is comprised of various types of mobile genetic element derived repeats. Mobile genetic elements that mobilize by an RNA intermediate, include both autonomous and non-autonomous retrotransposons, and mobilize by a “copy and paste” mechanism that relies of the presence of a functional reverse transcriptase activity. The extent to which these different types of elements are actively mobilizing varies among organisms, as revealed with the advent of Next Generation DNA sequencing (NGS). To understand the normal and aberrant mechanisms that impact the mobility of these elements requires a more extensive understanding of how these elements interact with molecular pathways of the cell, including DNA repair, recombination and chromatin. In addition, epigenetic based-mechanisms can also influence the mobility of these elements, likely by transcriptional activation or repression in certain cell types. Studies regarding how mobile genetic elements interface and evolve with these pathways will rely on genomic studies from various model organisms. In addition, the mechanistic details of how these elements are regulated will continue to be elucidated with the use of genetic, biochemical, molecular, cellular, and bioinformatic approaches. Remarkably, the current understanding regarding the biology of these elements in the human genome, suggests these elements may impact developmental biology, including cellular differentiation, neuronal development, and immune function. Thus, aberrant changes in these molecular pathways may also impact disease, including neuronal degeneration, autoimmunity, and cancer.

As our understanding of mobile genetic elements continues to grow we are gaining a deeper appreciation of their importance in shaping the bacterial genome and in the properties they confer to their bacterial hosts. These include, but are by no means limited to, resistance to antibiotics, and heavy metals, toxin production and increased virulence, production of antibiotics and the ability to utilize a diverse range of metabolic substrates. We are also gaining an understanding of diversity of these elements and their interactions with each other; a property which continually complicates any attempt to classify them. We are learning more about the molecular mechanisms by which they translocate to new genomic sites both within genomes and between different bacteria. This book provides a timely, state of the art update on the properties of an important selection of different bacterial integrative mobile genetic elements and the myriad of different ways in which they move and influence the biology of the host bacterium. The chapters are all written by authors who have undertaken pioneering work in their respective fields, making this book vital reading for all who are interested in the biology of bacteria and the mobile elements they carry.

Leading experts describe in step-by-step detail their most productive transposon-based methods and strategies for studying genome structure, function, and evolution. These readily reproducible techniques cover a wide range, including mutagenesis, transgenesis, gene silencing, and molecular systematics. Among the highlights are a series of DNA hybridization methods for analyzing the distribution and dynamics of mobile DNA at the hosts' genomic level, techniques for studying LTR retrotransposons in heterologous host systems, and mutagenesis protocols for investigating gene functions in a broad range of organisms. These cutting-edge methods offer investigators powerful genetic tools for dissecting the function of a specific gene, elaborating on the mechanisms leading to genetic change and diversity, and studying the evolutionary impact of mobile DNA on the biology and evolution of organisms.

Annotation What we now know about mobile DNA--and the substantial roles it plays in humans, animals, and plants. & bull; & bull;Mobile DNA accounts for more than half of our genome: This book explains the important role it plays in shaping evolutionary change. & bull;A rich, thorough, and accessible introduction for all serious students, practitioners, and researchers in human and medical genetics, molecular biology, or evolutionary biology. & bull;By one of the field's leading researchers, Dr. Haig Kazazian. This book thoroughly reviews our current scientific understanding of the significant role that mobile genetic elements play in the evolution and function of genomes and organisms--from plants and animals to humans. Highly regarded geneticist Haig Kazazian offers an accessible intellectual history of the field's research strategies and concerns, explaining how advances opened up new questions, and how new tools and capabilities have encouraged progress in the field. Kazazian introduces the key strategies and approaches taken in leading laboratories (including his own) to gain greater insight into the large proportion of our genome that derives from mobile genetic elements, including viruses, plasmids, and transposons. He also presents intriguing insights into long-term research strategies that may lead to an even deeper understanding.

An exploration of the raw power of genetic material to refashion itself to any purpose... Virtually all organisms contain multiple mobile DNAs that can move from place to place, and in some organisms, mobile DNA elements make up a significant portion of the genome. Mobile DNA III provides a comprehensive review of recent research, including findings suggesting the important role that mobile elements play in genome evolution and stability. Editor-in-Chief Nancy L. Craig assembled a team of multidisciplinary experts to develop this cutting-edge resource that covers the specific molecular mechanisms involved in recombination, including a detailed structural analysis of the enzymes responsible presents a detailed account of the many different recombination systems that can rearrange genomes examines the tremendous impact of mobile DNA in virtually all organisms Mobile DNA III is valuable as an in-depth supplemental reading for upper level life sciences students and as a reference for investigators exploring new biological systems. Biomedical researchers will find documentation of recent advances in understanding immune-antigen conflict between host and pathogen. It introduces biotechnicians to amazing tools for in vivo control of designer DNAs. It allows specialists to pick and choose advanced reviews of specific elements and to be drawn in by unexpected parallels and contrasts among the elements in diverse organisms. Mobile DNA III provides the most lucid reviews of these complex topics available anywhere.