Host-parasite relationships in the genome.

School of Biology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK. john.brookfield@nottingham.ac.uk

BMC biology 2011

Transposable elements are best interpreted as genomic parasites, proliferating in genomes through their over-replication relative to the rest of the genome. A new study examining correlations across Drosophila species between transposable element numbers and rates of host evolution has brought into focus one of the most complex questions in transposable element biology-what it is that determines the proportion of the genome that is transposable elements.