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Repeated horizontal transfers of four DNA transposons in invertebrates and bats.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Horizontal transfer (HT) of transposable elements (TEs) into a new genome is considered as an important force to drive genome variation and biological innovation. However, most of the HT of DNA transposons previously described occurred between closely related species or insects. RESULTS:In this study, we carried out a detailed analysis of four DNA transposons, which were found in the first sequenced twisted-wing parasite, Mengenilla moldrzyki. Through the homology-based strategy, these transposons were also identified in other insects, freshwater planarian, hydrozoans, and bats. The phylogenetic distribution of these transposons was discontinuous, and they showed extremely high sequence identities (>87%) over their entire length in spite of their hosts diverging more than 300 million years ago (Mya). Additionally, phylogenies and comparisons of transposons versus orthologous gene identities demonstrated that these transposons have transferred into their hosts by independent HTs. CONCLUSIONS:Here, we provided the first documented example of HT of CACTA transposons, which have been so far extensively studied in plants. Our results demonstrated that bats had continuously acquired new DNA elements via HT. This implies that predation on a large quantity of insects might increase bat exposure to HT. In addition, parasite-host interaction might facilitate exchanging of their genetic materials.

SUBMITTER: Tang Z

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4298943 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Repeated horizontal transfers of four DNA transposons in invertebrates and bats.

Tang Zhou Z Zhang Hua-Hao HH Huang Ke K Zhang Xiao-Gu XG Han Min-Jin MJ Zhang Ze Z

Mobile DNA 20150117 1

<h4>Background</h4>Horizontal transfer (HT) of transposable elements (TEs) into a new genome is considered as an important force to drive genome variation and biological innovation. However, most of the HT of DNA transposons previously described occurred between closely related species or insects.<h4>Results</h4>In this study, we carried out a detailed analysis of four DNA transposons, which were found in the first sequenced twisted-wing parasite, Mengenilla moldrzyki. Through the homology-based ...[more]

PMID: 25606061

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Project description:Transposable elements (TEs) are highly abundant in the genome and capable of mobility, two properties that make them particularly prone to transfer horizontally between organisms. Although the impact of horizontal transfer (HT) of TEs is well recognized in prokaryotes, the frequency of this phenomenon and its contribution to genome evolution in eukaryotes remain poorly appreciated. Here, we provide evidence that a DNA transposon called SPIN has colonized the genome of 17 species of reptiles representing nearly every major lineage of squamates, including 14 families of lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians. Slot blot analyses indicate that SPIN has amplified to high copy numbers in most of these species, ranging from 2,000-28,000 copies per haploid genome. In contrast, we could not detect the presence of SPIN in any of the turtles (seven species from seven families) and crocodiles (four species) examined. Genetic distances between SPIN sequences from species belonging to different squamate families are consistently very low (average = 0.1), considering the deep evolutionary divergence of the families investigated (most are >100 My diverged). Furthermore, these distances fall below interfamilial distances calculated for two genes known to have evolved under strong functional constraint in vertebrates (RAG1, average = 0.24 and C-mos, average = 0.27). These data, combined with phylogenetic analyses, indicate that the widespread distribution of SPIN among squamates is the result of at least 13 independent events of HTs. Molecular dating and paleobiogeographical data suggest that these transfers took place during the last 50 My on at least three different continents (North America, South America and, Africa). Together, these results triple the number of known SPIN transfer events among tetrapods, provide evidence for a previously hypothesized transoceanic movement of SPIN transposons during the Cenozoic, and further underscore the role of HT in the evolution of vertebrate genomes.

Dataset Information

Repeated horizontal transfers of four DNA transposons in invertebrates and bats.

Publications

Repeated horizontal transfers of four DNA transposons in invertebrates and bats.

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