Activation of an Endogenous Retrotransposon Associated with Epigenetic Changes in Lotus japonicus: A Tool for Functional Genomics in Legumes

Abstract

Long terminal repeat retrotransposons occupy a large portion of genomes in flowering plants. In spite of their abundance, the majority are silenced and rarely transpose. One of the examples of a highly active retrotransposon is (), of the model legume (Regel) K. Larsen (syn. L. var. Regel). has several unusual characteristics that are interesting both for studying evolutional genomics and for the use of as a genetic tool. In this review, we present the characteristics of and discuss the biological significance of as a member of chromovirus, a chromodomain containing clade of the superfamily. Then we discuss possibilities and methodologies for using endogenous transposable elements as mutagens to generate gene tagging populations in plants.