Transposable elements movement

Question 1

Alter properties of genes

Answer 1

-Inserts themselves in coding sequences, interfering with protein-coding open-reading frame (ORF) and creating non-functional gene products (i.e., ‘knockout’ effect)
-Inserts themselves in regulatory regions (i.e., promoter regions or introns) will affect gene regulation
-Inserts themselves around the splice signal sites, will alter splicing pattern

Question 2

Rearrange chromosome structure

Answer 2

-if one chromosome has TE while the other doesn’t during chromosome pairing there will be a mispairing of chromosomes, resulting in mutation (e.g., inversion, translocation and duplication)
-Deletion in TE sequences can affect specific genes which may lead to genetic diseases, e.g., Prada-Willi and Angelman syndrome

Question 3

Alter properties of genes

Answer 3

-Inserts themselves in coding sequences, interfering with protein-coding open-reading frame (ORF) and creating non-functional gene products (i.e., ‘knockout’ effect)
-Inserts themselves in regulatory regions (i.e., promoter regions or introns) will affect gene regulation
-Inserts themselves around the splice signal sites, will alter the splicing pattern

Question 4

Leakage of epigenetic modification

Answer 4

-TE can be naturally silenced by cellular mechanisms (e.g., siRNA) minimizing their deletions
-Cancers and diseases may transcriptionally reactivate them
-Cell silencing mechanisms may affect neighbouring genes (i.e., leakage of epigenetics)

Question 5

Transposable Elements’ activity serves as an important engine of evolution

Answer 5

Gene fusion or exon shuffling causing TEs can generate alternative splicing patterns (which may be species-specific)
-can also change open-reading frames of genes