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Ramakrishnan M, Papolu PK, Mullasseri S, Zhou M, Sharma A, Ahmad Z, Satheesh V, Kalendar R, Wei Q. The role of LTR retrotransposons in plant genetic engineering: how to control their transposition in the genome. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2023; 42:3-15. [PMID: 36401648 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-022-02945-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
We briefly discuss that the similarity of LTR retrotransposons to retroviruses is a great opportunity for the development of a genetic engineering tool that exploits intragenic elements in the plant genome for plant genetic improvement. Long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons are very similar to retroviruses but do not have the property of being infectious. While spreading between its host cells, a retrovirus inserts a DNA copy of its genome into the cells. The ability of retroviruses to cause infection with genome integration allows genes to be delivered to cells and tissues. Retrovirus vectors are, however, only specific to animals and insects, and, thus, are not relevant to plant genetic engineering. However, the similarity of LTR retrotransposons to retroviruses is an opportunity to explore the former as a tool for genetic engineering. Although recent long-read sequencing technologies have advanced the knowledge about transposable elements (TEs), the integration of TEs is still unable either to control them or to direct them to specific genomic locations. The use of existing intragenic elements to achieve the desired genome composition is better than using artificial constructs like vectors, but it is not yet clear how to control the process. Moreover, most LTR retrotransposons are inactive and unable to produce complete proteins. They are also highly mutable. In addition, it is impossible to find a full active copy of a LTR retrotransposon out of thousands of its own copies. Theoretically, if these elements were directly controlled and turned on or off using certain epigenetic mechanisms (inducing by stress or infection), LTR retrotransposons could be a great opportunity to develop a genetic engineering tool using intragenic elements in the plant genome. In this review, the recent developments in uncovering the nature of LTR retrotransposons and the possibility of using these intragenic elements as a tool for plant genetic engineering are briefly discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muthusamy Ramakrishnan
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Bamboo Research Institute, Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Subtropical Forest Biodiversity Conservation, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, Jiangsu, China
| | - Pradeep K Papolu
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Institute of Bamboo Research, Zhejiang A&F University, Lin'an, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, China
| | - Sileesh Mullasseri
- Department of Zoology, St. Albert's College (Autonomous), Kochi, 682018, Kerala, India
| | - Mingbing Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Institute of Bamboo Research, Zhejiang A&F University, Lin'an, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Collaborative Innovation Center for Bamboo Resources and High-Efficiency Utilization, Zhejiang A&F University, Lin'an, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, China
| | - Anket Sharma
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Institute of Bamboo Research, Zhejiang A&F University, Lin'an, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, China
- Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, USA
| | - Zishan Ahmad
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Bamboo Research Institute, Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Subtropical Forest Biodiversity Conservation, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, Jiangsu, China
| | - Viswanathan Satheesh
- Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Ruslan Kalendar
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, Biocenter 3, Viikinkaari 1, F1-00014, Helsinki, Finland.
- Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology (IPBB), Timiryazev Street 45, 050040, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
| | - Qiang Wei
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Bamboo Research Institute, Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Subtropical Forest Biodiversity Conservation, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, Jiangsu, China.
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Palomares-Rius JE, Castillo P, Navas-Cortés JA, Jiménez-Díaz RM, Tena M. A proteomic study of in-root interactions between chickpea pathogens: The root-knot nematode Meloidogyne artiellia and the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris race 5. J Proteomics 2011; 74:2034-51. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2011.05.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2011] [Revised: 04/29/2011] [Accepted: 05/12/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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