More recent evidence suggests that these data might be explained by new mutations caused by the reactivation of formally dormant transposable elements.
Updated analysis of transposable element insertions around the time of divergence strongly supports the fourth hypothesis of a near-concomitant origin (trifurcation) of the three superorders of mammals.
It contains 125 million base pairs. 58% of the genome consists of transposable elements, and the genome contains only 7500 identified protein-encoding genes.
The active site protein subunits of telomerase comprise a new class of reverse transcriptases, enzymes previously thought to be restricted to viruses and transposable elements.
He discovered a new type of transposable element that occurred in certain bird genomes but not others, together with a team from eleven institutions in five countries.