Sequence-Independent Identification of Active LTR Retrotransposons in Arabidopsis

LTR retrotransposons (LTR-TEs) are mobile genetic elements that often comprise a large portion of the host genome and are particularly abundant in genomes of plants (Lisch, 2013). They transpose through an RNA transcript that is reverse transcribed to an extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) of the original element that can insert at a new genomic location (Wicker et al., 2007). Once activated, LTR-TEs can rapidly increase in copy number in the host genome, leading to mutations, genomic instability, and changes in the regulation of genes adjacent to new insertions (Lisch, 2013).