In-depth knowledge of genome organization is necessary for developing genome editing methods. In mammals, retrotransposons, in which short and long interspersed repeats (SINEs and LINEs) predominate, account for about half of the genome and are involved in regulating gene expression. Retrotransposons are classified into ancient and younger, which gradually displace ancient variants. Species- and gene-related features of the displacement were observed by analyzing retrotransposons in the loci of the common gene editing targets myostatin (MSTN) and leptin receptor (LEPR) in humans, rabbits, cattle, and house mice. A higher preservation of ancient variants was detected in MSTN-flanking genes in rabbits and LEPR-flanking genes in humans. Functional convergence of genomic elements affecting intragenomic architectonics is discussed. Functional convergence of transposons is assumed to perform the same supporting function in genome architecture as stromal elements do in tissues.
Kosovsky et al. (Mon,) studied this question.