Identification of expressed transposable element insertions in the sequenced genome of Drosophila melanogaster.

Transposable elements (TEs) are major components of most genomes, and their impact on genome evolution is now well documented. However, the way they affect the transcriptome is still not clearly established. Using the sequenced genome of Drosophila melanogaster and EST libraries, we describe here the TE insertions that are unequivocally transcribed, and we have determined their location in the sequenced genome. We show that most TE families are transcribed, and we have specifically identified 69 expressed TE insertions, half of which are located inside genes, mostly within introns and 5'UTRs.