Transposable elements in cancer as a by-product of stress-induced evolvability

TY - JOUR

T1 - Transposable elements in cancer as a by-product of stress-induced evolvability

AU - Mourier, Tobias

AU - Nielsen, Lars P.

AU - Hansen, Anders Johannes

AU - Willerslev, Eske

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - Transposable elements (TEs) are ubiquitous in eukaryotic genomes. Barbara McClintock's famous notion of TEs acting as controlling elements modifying the genetic response of an organism upon exposure to stressful environments has since been solidly supported in a series of model organisms. This requires the TE activity response to possess an element of specificity and be targeted toward certain parts of the genome. We propose that a similar TE response is present in human cells, and that this stress response may drive the onset of human cancers. As such, TE-driven cancers may be viewed as an evolutionary by-product of organisms' abilities to genetically adapt to environmental stress.

AB - Transposable elements (TEs) are ubiquitous in eukaryotic genomes. Barbara McClintock's famous notion of TEs acting as controlling elements modifying the genetic response of an organism upon exposure to stressful environments has since been solidly supported in a series of model organisms. This requires the TE activity response to possess an element of specificity and be targeted toward certain parts of the genome. We propose that a similar TE response is present in human cells, and that this stress response may drive the onset of human cancers. As such, TE-driven cancers may be viewed as an evolutionary by-product of organisms' abilities to genetically adapt to environmental stress.

U2 - 10.3389/fgene.2014.00156

DO - 10.3389/fgene.2014.00156

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 24910642

SN - 1664-8021

VL - 5

JO - Frontiers in Genetics

JF - Frontiers in Genetics

M1 - 156

ER -