Transposable elements as artisans of the heterochromatic genome in Drosophila melanogaster

Over 50 years ago Barbara McClintock discovered that maize contains mobile genetic elements, but her findings were at first considered nothing more than anomalies. Today it is widely recognized that transposable elements have colonized all eukaryotic genomes and represent a major force driving evolution of organisms. Our contribution to this special issue deals with the theme of transposable element-host genome interactions. We bring together published and unpublished work to provide a picture of the contribution of transposable elements to the evolution of the heterochromatic genome in Drosophila melanogaster. In particular, we discuss data on 1) colonization of constitutive heterochromatin by transposable elements, 2) instability of constitutive heterochromatin induced by the I factor, and 3) evolution of constitutive heterochromatin and heterochromatic genes driven by transposable elements. Drawing attention to these topics may have direct implications on important aspects of genome organization and gene expression.