Análise In Silico de elementos transponíveis de Drosophila willistoni

Abstract

Transposable elements (TEs) are DNA sequences capable of moving within a genome. TEs, through their mobility, are a important aspect of organisms' genome arrangement, so they can be used as important tools to studying genome evolution and gene function. Drosophila willistoni is an model organism for TEs researches, as some of those elements existence and properties have been discovered in the Drosophila genus. D. willistoni had its genome entirely sequenced, being an interesting target for in silico studies. As such, this project had the objective of doing an in silico scan of four TE copies (412, hobo, BuT2, Mar). Homologue sequences of those four elements were detected. Copies were submitted to phylogenetic trees models to evaluate their proximity. The obtained results bring valuable insights of those TEs. Nevertheless, new approaches, such as in situ studies of the elements, are necessary to better understand the evolution of D. willistoni and its TEs.