Long-term experimental evolution reveals purifying selection on piRNA-mediated control of transposable element expression
Abstract Background Transposable elements (TEs) are an almost universal constituent of eukaryotic genomes.In animals, Piwi-interacting small RNAs (piRNAs) and repressive chromatin often play crucial roles in preventing TE transcription and thus restricting TE activity.Nevertheless, TE content varies widely across eukaryotes and the dynamics of TE a