Reviews & Analysis

In this Perspective article, Cheetham, Faulkner and Dinger describe our latest understanding of pseudogenes, which are typically defined as defective copies of regular genes. They argue that being open minded about potential functionality, as well as carefully designing functional studies, will lead to a growing appreciation of emerging functional roles of these understudied elements.

Incessant encounters of all cellular life forms with mobile genetic elements (MGEs) have driven the evolution of diverse defence mechanisms, including CRISPR–Cas and restriction–modification systems. In this Perspective, Koonin, Makarova, Wolf and Krupovic describe the surprisingly intricate interplay between MGEs and host defence systems. Not only do defence systems commonly show high horizontal mobility but many molecular components are ‘guns for hire’ that have been co-opted by defence systems from MGEs and vice versa.

Earth’s landscapes and biodiversity are being eroded at an unprecedented pace and scale. This Review argues that genomics tools need to be adopted in restoration ecology to help reverse the environmental destruction caused by humans.

Using the example of carbon concentrating mechanisms in plants, the authors of this Perspective provide evidence that broad comparative genomic analyses likely overestimate the genetic complexity underlying convergent evolution of complex traits.

In this Timeline article, Shay and Wright provide a historical account of progress in our understanding of telomeres (the ends of linear chromosomes) and telomerase (the primary enzyme that maintains and extends telomere lengths). Their perspective covers seminal moments from the early discoveries through to our latest understanding of the roles of telomeres and telomerase in ageing, diverse human diseases and gene regulation.