Format: ORAL

Josep M.Casacuberta, Lucia Campos, Raul Castanera, Noemia Morales-Daz, Marc Pulido, Carlos Vicient

CRAG (CSIC-IRTA-UAB-UB), Barcelona, Spain

Transposable Elements (TEs) are major components of eukaryote genomes and in particular of that of plants. The relationship between TEs and the host genome is often seen as a conflict with genomes tightly controlling TEs which transiently scape control by horizontal transfer or during stress situations, producing bursts of transposition and amplification, until the genome re-establishes the control and silence them. However, the dynamics of TEs is highly diverse and depends on the type and family of the TEs and the genome they inhabit. In our laboratory we are studying the dynamics of TEs in a wide range of plant genomes including rice, almond and peach, cotton, and P. patens. In this communication I will present recent data illustrating different strategies followed by plant TEs to be maintained in the genome ecosystem. On the other hand, the long lasting presence of TEs in genomes has endowed the latter with a high plasticity during evolution. Our laboratory, among many others, has shown that TEs have generated genome variability linked to phenotype diversity selected during plant domestication and breeding. In particular, our recent data points to an important role of TE in generating subtle transcriptional variability of transcription factors and regulatory proteins, that has been selected accompanying domestication and local adaptation of crops. In this communication I will also show recent data on the capacity of TEs to generate phenotypic diversity selected during crop domestication and local adaptation.