Riccardo Pianezza

The ongoing invasion of the endogenous retrovirus Kuruka in natural Drosophila melanogaster populations

Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile DNA sequences that can proliferate within host genomes, occasionally capable of crossing species boundaries via horizontal transfer (HT). Here, we report the discovery and characterization of Kuruka, a recently invading TE in natural D. mela...

The History of Transposable Element Invasions in Drosophila melanogaster

As a fundamental biological principle, genomic information is typically transmitted vertically from parent to offspring. Occasionally, however, genetic material is transferred horizontally between species. Transposable elements (TEs) are frequently involved in such horizontal tra...