300627 SE Mobile Genetic Elements and Plant Genome Evolution (2008W)

This course offers the students the possibility to get acquainted with modern literature and recent views on transposable elements, which constitute large fractions of plant genomes. The selected papers will focus on types of transposable elements, hypotheses on their origin, factors stimulating their activity in the genome, mechanisms which enable their successful amplification and re-integration in the genome, and horizontal transfer of the elements. Furthermore, their impact on genome restructuring on all levels of organization and evolution will be discussed as well as their role in the genome (selfish junk DNA vs. useful collaborator). Students will be able to understand and appreciate different aspects of transposon evolution and their role in shaping plant genomes, especially in the forthcoming era of genomics.