ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Over the years, a number of reports have revealed that Ty1 integration occurs in a 1-kbwindow upstream of Pol III-transcribed genes with an approximate 80-bp periodicity betweeneach integration hotspot and that this targeting requires active Pol III transcription at the siteof integration. However, the molecular bases of Ty1 targeting are still not understood. FINDINGS: The publications by Baller et al. and Mularoni et al. in the April issue of Genome Researchreport the first high-throughput sequencing analysis of Ty1 de novo insertion events. Theirobservations converge to the same conclusion, that Ty1 targets a specific surface of thenucleosome at the H2A/H2B interface. CONCLUSION: This discovery is important, and should help identifying factor(s) involved in Ty1 targeting.Recent data on transposable elements and retroviruses integration site choice obtained bylarge-scale analyses indicate that transcription and chromatin structure play an important rolein this process. The studies reported in this commentary add a new evidence of theimportance of chromatin in integration selectivity that should be of interest for everyoneinterested in transposable elements integration.