In this model, introns probably originated from transposable elements.
We excluded gene models with greater than 95% identity over 50 bp to known transposable elements.
The genome is very compact, and is one of the few organisms without transposable elements.
When the transposable elements lack additional genes, they are known as insertion sequences.
The most common form of transposable element in humans is the Alu sequence.
The genomes of other organisms can be analysed in a similar way, although with different transposable elements.
Insertions can be reversed by excision of the transposable element.
An additional 35,000 unconfirmed genes, including thousands that are part of potential transposable elements, brings the gene content to well over 60,000.
There are different theories explaining the conservation of transposable elements.
However, this finding regarding transposable elements may be dependent on the strong nature of the Hsp90 knockdown used in that experiment.