Harnessing transposable elements for plant functional genomics and genome engineering

Transposable elements (TEs) constitute a large portion of many plant genomes and play important roles in regulating gene expression and in driving genome evolution and crop domestication. Despite advances in understanding the functions and mechanisms of TEs, a comprehensive review of their integrated knowledge and cutting-edge biotechnological applications of TEs is still needed. We provide a thorough overview that connects discoveries, mechanisms, and technologies associated with plant TEs. We discuss the identification and function of TEs driven by functional genomics, epigenetic regulation of TEs, and utilization of active TEs in plant functional genomics and genome engineering. In summary, expanding the knowledge and application of TEs will be beneficial to crop breeding and plant synthetic biology in the future.