Long-term TE persistence even without beneficial insertion

This correspondence responds to the critique by Butler et al. (BMC Genomics 22:241, 2021) of our recent paper on transposable element (TE) persistence. We address the three main objections raised by Butler et al. After running a series of additional simulations that were inspired by the authors’ criticisms, we are able to present a more nuanced understanding of the conditions that generate long-term persistence.