Transposable elements and plant genome evolution

Transposable elements represent major components that support plant genome plasticity. Amplification of transposable elements has provided a significant contribution to plant genome size expansion and might represent an adaptive response to stress factors. The fact that, during the last decade, a number of plant genomes were either partially or completely sequenced provided an opportunity to analyze populations of transposable elements contained within plant genomes. Numerous studies have demonstrated that differential amplification of certain families of transposable elements during evolution contributed substantially to interspecies genome divergence and likely facilitated successful formation of allopolyploid genomes.