Structure and evolution of plant genomes_2

Transposons make up an important fraction of complex genomes and, as it is becoming increasingly clear, they support important functions for genome structure and regulation. In addition, transposon movement is an important source of variability that complex genomes have used to adapt to new situations and that is therefore crucial for plant domestication and breeding. Therefore, the annotation of transposable elements is a key step of the correct annotation and analysis of any complex genome, but it also provides important information on its function and evolution. Our groups have been working during the last 15 years on the regulation and impact of transposons on plant genomes. During the last few years we have analyzed transposition mechanisms and transposon control of some elements chosen as models. Recently, we have develop bioinformatics tools to annotate and study transposons, and we have applied these tools to the analysis of crop genomes.