Transposable Element Dysregulation as a Consequence of the Nuclear Lamina Impairment

Genome of eukaryotic cells contain active transposable elements that can move into new locations and produce mutations, chromosomal rearrangements and genomic instability. Therefore, transposable elements are silenced by heterochromatin-mediated repression and post-transcriptional RNA silencing mechanisms. It has been demonstrated that the Lamin protein of Drosophila is involved in the repression of transposable elements, suggesting the involvement of the nuclear lamina in the regulation of mobile elements. Since not all transposable elements appear upregulated in Lamin depleted flies, we have analyzed the effect of the genetic background on the expression of a number of transposable elements. We also looked for a possible correlation between the genomic localization of transposable elements insertions and the effect of Lamin depletion on transposable element expression. Finally, we tried to understand whether the phenotypes induced by Lamin depletion could be influenced by the presence of specific transposable elements in the genome.