The existence of transposable elements was implied by Barbara McClintock in the 1940s, based on genetic experiments, and verified in the 1970s by molecular biology. Today, hundreds of elements have been detected in all living organisms and are believed to represent more than 15% of every organism's genome. Major questions remain to be answered concerning how transposable elements have evolved within the context of interacting host genomes. These questions are of great interest because transposable elements may have had a significant impact on the evolution of host genome structure and the ability of populations and species to successfully adapt to their environments. In this book, complementary aspects of the evolution impact of transposable elements are discussed in papers presented by participants of the ESF workshop entitled `Evolution and Role of Transposable Elements' which was held at CNRS in Gif-sur-Yvette, France in September 1996. The presentations cover four major topics of active investigation: the structure and evolution of transposable elements, transposable elements and heterochromatin, dynamics and regulation of transposable elements, and transposable elements and host phylogenies.

Considers types of gene sequences that are now thought to comprise 10- 20% of the genetic component of all organisms, to contribute significantly to genome function and evolution, and to play a major in the mutation process. Covers the structure of the transposable elements, heterochromatin, host phylogenies, dynamics and regulation, natural populations and laboratory strains, their relationship to host genomes, and models of the dynamics. More particularly, addresses such issues as the origin of retroviruses and the co-evolution of the gypsy retrovirus with the Drosophila flamenco host gene, evolutionary links between telomeres and transposable elements, genetic and molecular investigations on the endogenous mobile elements of non-drosophilid fruitflies, the plant S1 short interspersed element as a model to study retroposition, regulation of the transposable element mariner, and population genetics models of transposable elements. The 29 papers are from a September 1996 workshop in Gif-sur- Yvette, France, and comprise a special issue of Genetica, vol. 100, no. 1-3 (1997). No index.
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