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Rius N, Delprat A, Ruiz A. A divergent P element and its associated MITE, BuT5, generate chromosomal inversions and are widespread within the Drosophila repleta species group. Genome Biol Evol 2013; 5:1127-41. [PMID: 23682154 PMCID: PMC3698922 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evt076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The transposon BuT5 caused two chromosomal inversions fixed in two Drosophila species of the repleta group, D. mojavensis and D. uniseta. BuT5 copies are approximately 1-kb long, lack any coding capacity, and do not resemble any other transposable element (TE). Because of its elusive features, BuT5 has remained unclassified to date. To fully characterize BuT5, we carried out bioinformatic similarity searches in available sequenced genomes, including 21 Drosophila species. Significant hits were only recovered for D. mojavensis genome, where 48 copies were retrieved, 22 of them approximately 1-kb long. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and dot blot analyses on 54 Drosophila species showed that BuT5 is homogeneous in size and has a widespread distribution within the repleta group. Thus, BuT5 can be considered as a miniature inverted-repeat TE. A detailed analysis of the BuT5 hits in D. mojavensis revealed three partial copies of a transposon with ends very similar to BuT5 and a P-element-like transposase-encoding region in between. A putatively autonomous copy of this P element was isolated by PCR from D. buzzatii. This copy is 3,386-bp long and possesses a seven-exon gene coding for an 822-aa transposase. Exon–intron boundaries were confirmed by reverse transcriptase-PCR experiments. A phylogenetic tree built with insect P superfamily transposases showed that the D. buzzatii P element belongs to an early diverging lineage within the P-element family. This divergent P element is likely the master transposon mobilizing BuT5. The BuT5/P element partnership probably dates back approximately 16 Ma and is the ultimate responsible for the generation of the two chromosomal inversions in the Drosophila repleta species group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nuria Rius
- Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
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New Drosophila P-like elements and reclassification of Drosophila P-elements subfamilies. Mol Genet Genomics 2012; 287:531-40. [PMID: 22610468 DOI: 10.1007/s00438-012-0691-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2011] [Accepted: 04/12/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Genomic searches for P-like transposable elements were performed (1) in silico in the 12 available Drosophila genomes and (2) by PCR using degenerate primers in 21 Neotropical Drosophila species. In silico searches revealed P-like sequences only in Drosophila persimilis and Drosophila willistoni. Sixteen new P-like elements were obtained by PCR. These sequences were added to sequences of previously described P-like elements, and a phylogenetic analysis was performed. The subfamilies of P-elements described in the literature (Canonical, M, O, T, and K) were included in the reconstructed tree, and all were monophyletic. However, we suggest that some subfamilies can be enlarged, other subdivided, and some new subfamilies may be proposed, totalizing eleven subfamilies, most of which contain new P-like sequences. Our analyses support the monophyly of P-like elements in Drosophilidae. We suggest that, once these elements need host-specific factors to be mobilizable, the horizontal transfer (HT) of P-like elements may be inhibited among more distant taxa. Nevertheless, HT among Drosophilidae species appears to be a common phenomenon.
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Drosophila P transposons of the urochordata Ciona intestinalis. Mol Genet Genomics 2009; 282:165-72. [PMID: 19424726 DOI: 10.1007/s00438-009-0453-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2009] [Accepted: 04/21/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
P transposons belong to the eukaryotic DNA transposons, which are transposed by a cut and paste mechanism using a P-element-coded transposase. They have been detected in Drosophila, and reside as single copies and stable homologous sequences in many vertebrate species. We present the P elements Pcin1, Pcin2 and Pcin3 from Ciona intestinalis, a species of the most primitive chordates, and compare them with those from Ciona savignyi. They showed typical DNA transposon structures, namely terminal inverted repeats and target site duplications. The coding region of Pcin1 consisted of 13 small exons that could be translated into a P-transposon-homologous protein. C. intestinalis and C. savignyi displayed nearly the same phenotype. However, their P elements were highly divergent and the assumed P transposase from C. intestinalis was more closely related to the transposase from Drosophila melanogaster than to the transposase of C. savignyi. The present study showed that P elements with typical features of transposable DNA elements may be found already at the base of the chordate lineage.
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Quesneville H, Nouaud D, Anxolabéhère D. P elements and MITE relatives in the whole genome sequence of Anopheles gambiae. BMC Genomics 2006; 7:214. [PMID: 16919158 PMCID: PMC1562414 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-7-214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2006] [Accepted: 08/18/2006] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Miniature Inverted-repeat Terminal Elements (MITEs), which are particular class-II transposable elements (TEs), play an important role in genome evolution, because they have very high copy numbers and display recurrent bursts of transposition. The 5' and 3' subterminal regions of a given MITE family often show a high sequence similarity with the corresponding regions of an autonomous Class-II TE family. However, the sustained presence over a prolonged evolutionary time of MITEs and TE master copies able to promote their mobility has been rarely reported within the same genome, and this raises fascinating evolutionary questions. Results We report here the presence of P transposable elements with related MITE families in the Anopheles gambiae genome. Using a TE annotation pipeline we have identified and analyzed all the P sequences in the sequenced A. gambiae PEST strain genome. More than 0.49% of the genome consists of P elements and derivates. P elements can be divided into 9 different subfamilies, separated by more than 30% of nucleotide divergence. Seven of them present full length copies. Ten MITE families are associated with 6 out of the 9 Psubfamilies. Comparing their intra-element nucleotide diversities and their structures allows us to propose the putative dynamics of their emergence. In particular, one MITE family which has a hybrid structure, with ends each of which is related to a different P-subfamily, suggests a new mechanism for their emergence and their mobility. Conclusion This work contributes to a greater understanding of the relationship between full-length class-II TEs and MITEs, in this case P elements and their derivatives in the genome of A. gambiae. Moreover, it provides the most comprehensive catalogue to date of P-like transposons in this genome and provides convincing yet indirect evidence that some of the subfamilies have been recently active.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hadi Quesneville
- Dynamique du Génome et Evolution, Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS, Universités P.M. Curie and D. Diderot 2, Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris, France
- Bioinformatics and Genomics Lab, Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS, Universités P.M. Curie and D. Diderot 2, Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris, France
| | - Danielle Nouaud
- Dynamique du Génome et Evolution, Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS, Universités P.M. Curie and D. Diderot 2, Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris, France
| | - Dominique Anxolabéhère
- Dynamique du Génome et Evolution, Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS, Universités P.M. Curie and D. Diderot 2, Place Jussieu, 75252 Paris, France
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Germanos E, Mota NR, Loreto EL. Transposable elements from the mesophragmatica group of Drosophila. Genet Mol Biol 2006. [DOI: 10.1590/s1415-47572006000400026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Elgion L.S. Loreto
- Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Brazil; Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Brazil
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Polachini de Castro J, Carareto CMA. P elements in the saltans group of Drosophila: a new evaluation of their distribution and number of genomic insertion sites. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2005; 32:383-7. [PMID: 15186822 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2004.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2003] [Revised: 01/02/2004] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Few are studies on P elements that have addressed the saltans group. These studies had shown that species from the cordata and elliptica subgroups were devoid of any discernible P homologous sequences, while species from the parasaltans, sturtevanti, and saltans subgroups all contain P element sequences. Our analyses showed the presence of one to 15 P element insertion sites in species of the saltans group, including Drosophila neocordata and Drosophila emarginata (cordata and elliptica subgroups, respectively). From these species, only those from the parasaltans, sturtevanti, and saltans subgroups harbor canonical P elements and, only those of the last two subgroups seem to harbor putative full-sized elements. Due to the low similarity of the sequences found in D. neocordata and D. emarginata to those earlier described, we suggest that these sequences might be rudimental P element derivatives that were present in the ancestral of the subgenus Sophophora.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana Polachini de Castro
- Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista-UNESP, Rua Cristóvão Colombo 2265, CEP 15054-000, São José do Rio Preto-SP, Brazil
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Hammer SE, Strehl S, Hagemann S. Homologs of Drosophila P transposons were mobile in zebrafish but have been domesticated in a common ancestor of chicken and human. Mol Biol Evol 2004; 22:833-44. [PMID: 15616143 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msi068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A substantial fraction of vertebrate and invertebrate genomes is composed of mobile elements and their derivatives. One of the most intensively studied transposon families, the P elements of Drosophila, was thought to exist exclusively in the genomes of dipteran insects. Based on the data provided by the human genome project, in 2001 our group has identified a P element-homologous sequence in the human genome. This P element-homologous human gene, named Phsa, is 19,533 nucleotides long, comprises six exons and five introns, and encodes a protein of still unknown function with a length of 903 amino acid residues. The N-terminal THAP domain of the putative Phsa protein shows similarities to the site-specific DNA-binding domain of the Drosophila P element transposase. In the present study, FISH analysis and the screening of a human lambda genomic library revealed a single copy of Phsa located on the long arm of chromosome 4, upstream of a gene coding for the hypothetical protein DKFZp686L1814. The same gene arrangement was found for the homologous gene Pgga in the genome of chicken, thus, displaying Pgga at orthologous position on the long arm of chromosome 4. The single-copy gene status and the absence of terminal inverted repeats and target-site duplications indicate that Phsa and Pgga constitute domesticated stationary sequences. In contrast, a considerable number of P-homologous sequences with terminal inverted repeats and intact target-site duplications could be identified in zebrafish, strongly indicating that Pdre elements were mobile within the zebrafish genome. Pdre elements are the first P-like transposons identified in a vertebrate species. With respect to Phsa, gene expression studies showed that Phsa is expressed in a broad range of human tissues, suggesting that the putative Phsa protein plays a not yet understood but essential role in a specific metabolic pathway. We demonstrate that P-homologous DNA sequences occur in the genomes of 21 analyzed vertebrates but only as rudiments in the rodents. Finally, the evolutionary history of P element-homologous vertebrate sequences is discussed in the context of the "molecular domestication" hypothesis versus the "source gene hypothesis."
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine E Hammer
- Laboratories of Genome Dynamics, Center of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Oliveira de Carvalho M, Silva JC, Loreto ELS. Analyses of P-like transposable element sequences from the genome of Anopheles gambiae. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2004; 13:55-63. [PMID: 14728667 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2583.2004.00461.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
We have identified 50 P element-homologous sequences in the genome of Anopheles gambiae by performing homology searches against the public genome database of A. gambiae using the canonical P element from Drosophila melanogaster as a query sequence. While most of these sequences belong to P subfamilies previously described from anopheline mosquitoes, at least four new subfamilies were identified. One of these A. gambiae P elements, which we termed AgPLS, was analysed in detail. AgPLS consists of three exons and does not have inverted terminal repeats. This element retains several of the structural features of other P-encoded peptides, such as motifs involved in DNA-protein and protein-protein interaction, and a motif involved in GTP utilization. Strong sequence and structural similarity to functional P elements, a number of nonsynonymous substitutions that is smaller than that of synonymous substitutions and the presence of putative nuclear localization signals suggest that the A. gambiae elements may retain the capacity for transposition or its repression. These sequences seem to be most closely related to P elements described from Musca domestica and Lucilia cuprina, the only P element hosts known outside the family Drosophilidae.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Oliveira de Carvalho
- Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
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Castro JPD, Carareto CM. Characterization of two full-sized P elements from Drosophila sturtevanti and Drosophila prosaltans. Genet Mol Biol 2004. [DOI: 10.1590/s1415-47572004000300011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
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Sarkar A, Sengupta R, Krzywinski J, Wang X, Roth C, Collins FH. P elements are found in the genomes of nematoceran insects of the genus Anopheles. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2003; 33:381-387. [PMID: 12650686 DOI: 10.1016/s0965-1748(03)00004-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
We report the identification of genomic sequences in various anopheline mosquitoes (family Culicidae: suborder Nematocera: order Diptera) showing homology to the class II, short inverted-terminal-repeat (ITR) transposable element P from Drosophila melanogaster (family Drosophilidae; suborder Brachycera: order Diptera). Anopheles gambiae appears to have at least six distinct P elements. Other anopheline species, including four additional members of the An. gambiae species complex (An. arabiensis, An. merus, An. melas and An. quadriannulatus), Anopheles stephensi (all subgenus Cellia), An. quadrimaculatus (subgenus Anopheles) and Anopheles albimanus (subgenus Nyssorhynchus) also possess P elements similar to those found in An. gambiae. Ten distinct P element types were identified in the genus Anopheles. At least two of the An. gambiae elements appears to be intact and potentially functional. Phylogenetic analysis of the anopheline P elements reveals them to belong to a distinctly different clade from the brachyceran P elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Sarkar
- Center for Tropical Disease Research and Training, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556-0369, USA
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Atkinson PW, James AA. Germline transformants spreading out to many insect species. ADVANCES IN GENETICS 2002; 47:49-86. [PMID: 12000097 DOI: 10.1016/s0065-2660(02)47002-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The past 5 years have witnessed significant advances in our ability to introduce genes into the genomes of insects of medical and agricultural importance. A number of transposable elements now exist that are proving to be sufficiently robust to allow genetic transformation of species within three orders of insects. In particular all of these transposable elements can be used genetically to transform mosquitoes. These developments, together with the use of suitable genes as genetic markers, have enabled several genes and promoters to be transferred between insect species and their effects on the phenotype of the transgenic insect determined. Within a very short period of time, insights into the function of insect promoters in homologous and heterologous insect species are being gained. Furthermore, strategies aimed at ameliorating the harmful effects of pest insects, such as their ability to vector human pathogens, are now being tested in the pest insects themselves. We review the progress that has been made in the development of transgenic technology in pest insect species and conclude that the repertoire of transposable element-based genetic tools, long available to Drosophila geneticists, can now be applied to other insect species. In addition, it is likely that these developments will lead to the generation of pest insects that display a significantly reduced ability to transmit pathogens in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter W Atkinson
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside 92521, USA
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