Plant Transposable Elements: Biology and Biotechnology

This new volume provides an up-to-date understanding of the numerous classes of plant transposable elements, the mobile units of DNA that comprise large portions of plant genomes, an important contributor for gene and genome evolution. Transposable elements (TEs) are major components of large plant genomes and main drivers of genome evolution, known to produce a wide variety of changes in plant gene expression and function. This book, Plant Transposable Elements: Biology and Biotechnology, provides a systematic interpretation of protocols designed to characterize TEs and their biotechnological roles. The chapters explore the role of TEs in plant development, their architecture, their epigenetic regulation, their use in DNA repair, their evolution and speciation, while highlighting their importance in the approaching epoch of climate change. It discusses the applications of the transposons in genome editing and their biology, classification, structure, functions, and evolution. The volume begins with introduction of transposable elements (TEs), covering their introduction, classification, and transposition. It delves into protocols designed to characterize TEs and their biotechnological applications. This section looks at computational approaches for prediction and analysis, retro-transposon capture sequencing, and more. The section on transposon biology focuses on its role in plant development and as natural genetic engineers of genome mutation, evolution, and speciation. The book looks further into transposon applications in genome editing, exploring tagging and mutagenesis, genome engineering, and more. The last chapter uses the example of Oryza sativa to elucidate on the classification, structure, function, and evolution of transposable elements. This comprehensive volume is a valuable comprehensive resource for researchers, faculty, and students in biology, biotechnology, genetics, and botany and plant science.