Epigenetic regulation of transposable elements in the plant kingdom
Transposable elements (transposons, TEs, 'jumping genes') are short strands of repetitive DNA that can self-replicate and translocate within genomes of plants, animals, and prokaryotes, and they are generally perceived as parasitic in nature. Their transcription can lead to the production of dsRNAs (double-stranded RNAs), which resemble retrovirus transcripts.