Evolution of transposons as controlling elements
Transposons were originally described as controlling elements, yet the molecular basis and evolutionary origin of their transcriptional regulatory activities remain elusive. Here, we show that transcriptional regulatory activity is an intrinsic property of transposases (TPases). We demonstrate that the Arabidopsis AtMu1 TPase is sufficient to induce sequence-specific transcriptional activation of…
Transposons have long been recognized as controlling elements within genomes, but the molecular basis and evolutionary origin of their transcriptional regulatory activities have long been unclear. Now, researchers have uncovered that transcriptional regulatory activity is an inherent trait of transposases (TPases). Specifically, the Arabidopsis AtMu1 TPase has been shown to be capable of inducing sequence-specific transcriptional activation of corresponding copies, unveiling a previously existing cis-regulatory network.
Furthermore, the study reveals that the long-established Spm transposon-encoded transcriptional regulator TnpA is derived from an ancestral TPase, effectively linking transcriptional regulators to TPases. Across eukaryotes, multiple domesticated TPase-derived proteins have been identified that lack catalytic residues for transposition, suggesting a one-step regulatory co-option via loss of catalytic activity.
Collectively, these findings demonstrate that TPases function as autonomous sequence-specific transcriptional regulators and provide a direct evolutionary pathway from TPases to transcription factors.
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