1
|
Bai S, Luo H, Tong H, Wu Y, Yuan Y. Advances on transfer and maintenance of large DNA in bacteria, fungi, and mammalian cells. Biotechnol Adv 2024; 76:108421. [PMID: 39127411 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2024.108421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 08/04/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
Advances in synthetic biology allow the design and manipulation of DNA from the scale of genes to genomes, enabling the engineering of complex genetic information for application in biomanufacturing, biomedicine and other areas. The transfer and subsequent maintenance of large DNA are two core steps in large scale genome rewriting. Compared to small DNA, the high molecular weight and fragility of large DNA make its transfer and maintenance a challenging process. This review outlines the methods currently available for transferring and maintaining large DNA in bacteria, fungi, and mammalian cells. It highlights their mechanisms, capabilities and applications. The transfer methods are categorized into general methods (e.g., electroporation, conjugative transfer, induced cell fusion-mediated transfer, and chemical transformation) and specialized methods (e.g., natural transformation, mating-based transfer, virus-mediated transfection) based on their applicability to recipient cells. The maintenance methods are classified into genomic integration (e.g., CRISPR/Cas-assisted insertion) and episomal maintenance (e.g., artificial chromosomes). Additionally, this review identifies the major technological advantages and disadvantages of each method and discusses the development for large DNA transfer and maintenance technologies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Song Bai
- Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, China; Frontiers Research Institute for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Han Luo
- Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, China; Frontiers Research Institute for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Hanze Tong
- Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, China; Frontiers Research Institute for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Yi Wu
- Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, China; Frontiers Research Institute for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China. @tju.edu.cn
| | - Yingjin Yuan
- Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, 300072 Tianjin, China; Frontiers Research Institute for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Phan J, Chen B, Zhao Z, Allies G, Iannaccone A, Paul A, Cansiz F, Spina A, Leven AS, Gellhaus A, Schadendorf D, Kimmig R, Mettlen M, Tasdogan A, Morrison SJ. Retrotransposons are co-opted to activate hematopoietic stem cells and erythropoiesis. Science 2024:eado6836. [PMID: 39446896 DOI: 10.1126/science.ado6836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2024] [Revised: 06/21/2024] [Accepted: 08/30/2024] [Indexed: 10/26/2024]
Abstract
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and erythropoiesis are activated during pregnancy and after bleeding by the derepression of retrotransposons, including endogenous retroviruses and LINE elements. Retrotransposon transcription activates the innate immune sensors cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) and stimulator of interferon (IFN) genes (STING), which induce IFN and IFN-regulated genes in HSCs, increasing HSC division and erythropoiesis. Inhibition of reverse transcriptase or deficiency for cGAS or STING had little or no effect on hematopoiesis in non-pregnant mice but depleted HSCs and erythroid progenitors in pregnant mice, reducing red blood cell counts. Retrotransposons and IFN regulated genes were also induced in mouse HSCs after serial bleeding and in human HSCs during pregnancy. Reverse transcriptase inhibitor use was associated with anemia in pregnant, but not non-pregnant, people suggesting conservation of these mechanisms from mice to humans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julia Phan
- Children's Research Institute and the Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Brandon Chen
- Children's Research Institute and the Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Zhiyu Zhao
- Children's Research Institute and the Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Gabriele Allies
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Essen & German Cancer Consortium; Essen, & National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT-West), Campus Essen & Research Alliance Ruhr, Research Center One Health, University Duisburg-Essen, Campus Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Antonella Iannaccone
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Animesh Paul
- Children's Research Institute and the Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Feyza Cansiz
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Essen & German Cancer Consortium; Essen, & National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT-West), Campus Essen & Research Alliance Ruhr, Research Center One Health, University Duisburg-Essen, Campus Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Alberto Spina
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Anna-Sophia Leven
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Essen & German Cancer Consortium; Essen, & National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT-West), Campus Essen & Research Alliance Ruhr, Research Center One Health, University Duisburg-Essen, Campus Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Alexandra Gellhaus
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Dirk Schadendorf
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Essen & German Cancer Consortium; Essen, & National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT-West), Campus Essen & Research Alliance Ruhr, Research Center One Health, University Duisburg-Essen, Campus Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Rainer Kimmig
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Marcel Mettlen
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75235, USA
| | - Alpaslan Tasdogan
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Essen & German Cancer Consortium; Essen, & National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT-West), Campus Essen & Research Alliance Ruhr, Research Center One Health, University Duisburg-Essen, Campus Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Sean J Morrison
- Children's Research Institute and the Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Upadhayay V, Gu W, Yu Q. Enhancing mRNA Interactions by Engineering the Arc Protein with Nucleocapsid Domain. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2024. [PMID: 39433292 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c03151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2024]
Abstract
Activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc) forms virus-like capsids for mRNA transport between neurons. Unlike HIV-1 Group-specific Antigen (Gag), which uses its Nucleocapsid (NC) domain to bind HIV-1 genomic mRNA, mammalian Arc lacks the NC domain, and their direct mRNA binding interactions remain underexplored. This study examined rat Arc's binding to rat Arc 5' UTR (A5U), HIV-1 5' UTR (H5U), and GFP mRNAs, revealing weak binding with no significant preference. Adding the HIV-1 NC domain to rArc's C-terminus significantly improved binding to H5U, while also showing substantial binding to A5U at about 60% of its H5U level and exhibiting twice the affinity for A5U over GFP mRNA. Importantly, rArc-NC binds 3.4 times more A5U and H5U than GST-NC, indicating that rArc NTD-CA aids mRNA binding by HIV-1 NC. These findings suggest a conserved Gag protein-mRNA interaction mechanism, highlighting the potential for developing mRNA delivery systems that combine endogenous Gag NTD-CA with retroviral NC and UTRs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vaibhav Upadhayay
- Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Wenchao Gu
- Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Qiuming Yu
- Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Kortsinoglou AM, Wood MJ, Myridakis AI, Andrikopoulos M, Roussis A, Eastwood D, Butt T, Kouvelis VN. Comparative genomics of Metarhizium brunneum strains V275 and ARSEF 4556: unraveling intraspecies diversity. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2024; 14:jkae190. [PMID: 39210673 PMCID: PMC11457142 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/31/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Entomopathogenic fungi belonging to the Order Hypocreales are renowned for their ability to infect and kill insect hosts, while their endophytic mode of life and the beneficial rhizosphere effects on plant hosts have only been recently recognized. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying their different lifestyles could optimize their potential as both biocontrol and biofertilizer agents, as well as the wider appreciation of niche plasticity in fungal ecology. This study describes the comprehensive whole genome sequencing and analysis of one of the most effective entomopathogenic and endophytic EPF strains, Metarhizium brunneum V275 (commercially known as Lalguard Met52), achieved through Nanopore and Illumina reads. Comparative genomics for exploring intraspecies variability and analyses of key gene sets were conducted with a second effective EPF strain, M. brunneum ARSEF 4556. The search for strain- or species-specific genes was extended to M. brunneum strain ARSEF 3297 and other species of genus Metarhizium, to identify molecular mechanisms and putative key genome adaptations associated with mode of life differences. Genome size differed significantly, with M. brunneum V275 having the largest genome amongst M. brunneum strains sequenced to date. Genome analyses revealed an abundance of plant-degrading enzymes, plant colonization-associated genes, and intriguing intraspecies variations regarding their predicted secondary metabolic compounds and the number and localization of Transposable Elements. The potential significance of the differences found between closely related endophytic and entomopathogenic fungi, regarding plant growth-promoting and entomopathogenic abilities, are discussed, enhancing our understanding of their diverse functionalities and putative applications in agriculture and ecology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra M Kortsinoglou
- Section of Genetics and Biotechnology, Department of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15771 Athens, Greece
| | - Martyn J Wood
- Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, Singleton Park, SA2 8PP, Swansea, UK
| | - Antonis I Myridakis
- Section of Genetics and Biotechnology, Department of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15771 Athens, Greece
| | - Marios Andrikopoulos
- Section of Genetics and Biotechnology, Department of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15771 Athens, Greece
| | - Andreas Roussis
- Section of Botany, Department of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece
| | - Dan Eastwood
- Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, Singleton Park, SA2 8PP, Swansea, UK
| | - Tariq Butt
- Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, Singleton Park, SA2 8PP, Swansea, UK
| | - Vassili N Kouvelis
- Section of Genetics and Biotechnology, Department of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15771 Athens, Greece
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Crepaldi C, Cabral-de-Mello DC, Parise-Maltempi PP. Comparative analysis of transposable elements dynamics in fish with different sex chromosome systems. Genome 2024; 67:339-350. [PMID: 38739948 DOI: 10.1139/gen-2023-0134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) are widespread genomic components with substantial roles in genome evolution and sex chromosome differentiation. In this study, we compared the TE composition of three closely related fish with different sex chromosome systems: Megaleporinus elongatus (Z1Z1Z2Z2/Z1W1Z2W2), Megaleporinus macrocephalus (ZZ/ZW) (both with highly differentiated W sex chromosomes), and Leporinus friderici (without heteromorphic sex chromosomes). We created custom TE libraries for each species using clustering methods and manual annotation and prediction, and we predicted TE temporal dynamics through divergence-based analysis. The TE abundance ranged from 16% to 21% in the three mobilomes, with L. friderici having the lowest overall. Despite the recent amplification of TEs in all three species, we observed differing expansion activities, particularly between the two genera. Both Megaleporinus recently experienced high retrotransposon activity, with a reduction in DNA TEs, which could have implications in sex chromosome composition. In contrast, L. friderici showed the opposite pattern. Therefore, despite having similar TE compositions, Megaleporinus and Leporinus exhibit distinct TE histories that likely evolved after their separation, highlighting a rapid TE expansion over short evolutionary periods.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Crepaldi
- Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Biologia Geral e Aplicada, Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - Diogo Cavalcanti Cabral-de-Mello
- Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Biologia Geral e Aplicada, Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - Patricia Pasquali Parise-Maltempi
- Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) "Júlio de Mesquita Filho", Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Biologia Geral e Aplicada, Rio Claro, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Koonin EV, Fischer MG, Kuhn JH, Krupovic M. The polinton-like supergroup of viruses: evolution, molecular biology, and taxonomy. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2024; 88:e0008623. [PMID: 39023254 PMCID: PMC11426020 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00086-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/20/2024] Open
Abstract
SUMMARYPolintons are 15-20 kb-long self-synthesizing transposons that are widespread in eukaryotic, and in particular protist, genomes. Apart from a transposase and a protein-primed DNA polymerase, polintons encode homologs of major and minor jelly-roll capsid proteins, DNA-packaging ATPases, and proteases involved in capsid maturation of diverse eukaryotic viruses of kingdom Bamfordvirae. Given the conservation of these structural and morphogenetic proteins among polintons, these elements are predicted to alternate between transposon and viral lifestyles and, although virions have thus far not been detected, are classified as viruses (class Polintoviricetes) in the phylum Preplasmiviricota. Related to polintoviricetes are vertebrate adenovirids; unclassified polinton-like viruses (PLVs) identified in various environments or integrated into diverse protist genomes; virophages (Maveriviricetes), which are part of tripartite hyperparasitic systems including protist hosts and giant viruses; and capsid-less derivatives, such as cytoplasmic linear DNA plasmids of fungi and transpovirons. Phylogenomic analysis indicates that the polinton-like supergroup of viruses bridges bacterial tectivirids (preplasmiviricot class Tectiliviricetes) to the phylum Nucleocytoviricota that includes large and giant eukaryotic DNA viruses. Comparative structural analysis of proteins encoded by polinton-like viruses led to the discovery of previously undetected functional domains, such as terminal proteins and distinct proteases implicated in DNA polymerase processing, and clarified the evolutionary relationships within Polintoviricetes. Here, we leverage these insights into the evolution of the polinton-like supergroup to develop an amended megataxonomy that groups Polintoviricetes, PLVs (new class 'Aquintoviricetes'), and virophages (renamed class 'Virophaviricetes') together with Adenoviridae (new class 'Pharingeaviricetes') in a preplasmiviricot subphylum 'Polisuviricotina' sister to a subphylum including Tectiliviricetes ('Prepoliviricotina').
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Matthias G Fischer
- Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jens H Kuhn
- Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, Division of Clinical Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Fort Detrick, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Mart Krupovic
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Archaeal Virology Unit, Paris, France
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Nie Y, Liu X, Zhao L, Huang Y. Repetitive element expansions contribute to genome size gigantism in Pamphagidae: A comparative study (Orthoptera, Acridoidea). Genomics 2024; 116:110896. [PMID: 39025318 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2024.110896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 07/10/2024] [Accepted: 07/15/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
Abstract
Pamphagidae is a family of Acridoidea that inhabits the desert steppes of Eurasia and Africa. This study employed flow cytometry to estimate the genome size of eight species in the Pamphagidae. The results indicate that the genome size of the eight species ranged from 13.88 pg to 14.66 pg, with an average of 14.26 pg. This is the largest average genome size recorded for the Orthoptera families, as well as for the entire Insecta. Furthermore, the study explored the role of repetitive sequences in the genome, including their evolutionary dynamics and activity, using low-coverage next-generation sequencing data. The genome is composed of 14 different types of repetitive sequences, which collectively make up between 59.9% and 68.17% of the total genome. The Pamphagidae family displays high levels of transposable element (TE) activity, with the number of TEs increasing and accumulating since the family's emergence. The study found that the types of repetitive sequences contributing to the TE outburst events are similar across species. Additionally, the study identified unique repetitive elements for each species. The differences in repetitive sequences among the eight Pamphagidae species correspond to their phylogenetic relationships. The study sheds new light on genome gigantism in the Pamphagidae and provides insight into the correlation between genome size and repetitive sequences within the family.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yimeng Nie
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xuanzeng Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Lina Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yuan Huang
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Nguyen TBH, Foulongne-Oriol M, Jany JL, le Floch G, Picot A. New insights into mycotoxin risk management through fungal population genetics and genomics. Crit Rev Microbiol 2024:1-22. [PMID: 39188135 DOI: 10.1080/1040841x.2024.2392179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 08/09/2024] [Indexed: 08/28/2024]
Abstract
Mycotoxin contamination of food and feed is a major global concern. Chronic or acute dietary exposure to contaminated food and feed can negatively affect both human and animal health. Contamination occurs through plant infection by toxigenic fungi, primarily Aspergillus and Fusarium spp., either before or after harvest. Despite the application of various management strategies, controlling these pathogens remains a major challenge primarily because of their ability to adapt to environmental changes and selection pressures. Understanding the genetic structure of plant pathogen populations is pivotal for gaining new insights into their biology and epidemiology, as well as for understanding the mechanisms behind their adaptability. Such deeper understanding is crucial for developing effective and preemptive management strategies tailored to the evolving nature of pathogenic populations. This review focuses on the population-level variations within the two most economically significant toxigenic fungal genera according to space, host, and pathogenicity. Outcomes in terms of migration patterns, gene flow within populations, mating abilities, and the potential for host jumps are examined. We also discuss effective yet often underutilized applications of population genetics and genomics to address practical challenges in the epidemiology and disease control of toxigenic fungi.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Toan Bao Hung Nguyen
- Univ Brest, INRAE, Laboratoire Universitaire de Biodiversité et Écologie Microbienne, Plouzané, France
| | | | - Jean-Luc Jany
- Univ Brest, INRAE, Laboratoire Universitaire de Biodiversité et Écologie Microbienne, Plouzané, France
| | - Gaétan le Floch
- Univ Brest, INRAE, Laboratoire Universitaire de Biodiversité et Écologie Microbienne, Plouzané, France
| | - Adeline Picot
- Univ Brest, INRAE, Laboratoire Universitaire de Biodiversité et Écologie Microbienne, Plouzané, France
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Zheng Y, Young ND, Campos TL, Korhonen PK, Wang T, Sumanam SB, Taki AC, Byrne JJ, Chang BCH, Song J, Gasser RB. Chromosome-contiguous genome for the Haecon-5 strain of Haemonchus contortus reveals marked genetic variability and enables the discovery of essential gene candidates. Int J Parasitol 2024:S0020-7519(24)00153-X. [PMID: 39168434 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2024.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2024] [Revised: 07/24/2024] [Accepted: 08/10/2024] [Indexed: 08/23/2024]
Abstract
Millions of livestock animals worldwide are infected with the haematophagous barber's pole worm, Haemonchus contortus, the aetiological agent of haemonchosis. Despite the major significance of this parasite worldwide and its widespread resistance to current treatments, the lack of a high-quality genome for the well-defined strain of this parasite from Australia, called Haecon-5, has constrained research in a number of areas including host-parasite interactions, drug discovery and population genetics. To enable research in these areas, we report here a chromosome-contiguous genome (∼280 Mb) for Haecon-5 with high-quality models for 19,234 protein-coding genes. Comparative genomic analyses show significant genomic similarity (synteny) with a UK strain of H. contortus, called MHco3(ISE).N1 (abbreviated as "ISE"), but we also discover marked differences in genomic structure/gene arrangements, distribution of nucleotide variability (single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and indels) and orthology between Haecon-5 and ISE. We used the genome and extensive transcriptomic resources for Haecon-5 to predict a subset of essential single-copy genes employing a "cross-species" machine learning (ML) approach using a range of features from nucleotide/protein sequences, protein orthology, subcellular localisation, single-cell RNA-seq and/or histone methylation data available for the model organisms Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster. From a set of 1,464 conserved single copy genes, transcribed in key life-cycle stages of H. contortus, we identified 232 genes whose homologs have critical functions in C. elegans and/or D. melanogaster, and prioritised 10 of them for further characterisation; nine of the 10 genes likely play roles in neurophysiological processes, germline, hypodermis and/or respiration, and one is an unknown (orphan) gene for which no detailed functional information exists. Future studies of these genes/gene products are warranted to elucidate their roles in parasite biology, host-parasite interplay and/or disease. Clearly, the present Haecon-5 reference genome and associated resources now underpin a broad range of fundamental investigations of H. contortus and could assist in accelerating the discovery of novel intervention targets and drug candidates to combat haemonchosis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuanting Zheng
- Department of Veterinary Bioscience, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Neil D Young
- Department of Veterinary Bioscience, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Tulio L Campos
- Department of Veterinary Bioscience, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Pasi K Korhonen
- Department of Veterinary Bioscience, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Tao Wang
- Department of Veterinary Bioscience, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sunita B Sumanam
- Department of Veterinary Bioscience, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Aya C Taki
- Department of Veterinary Bioscience, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Joseph J Byrne
- Department of Veterinary Bioscience, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Bill C H Chang
- Department of Veterinary Bioscience, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jiangning Song
- Faculty of IT, Department of Data Science and AI, Monash University, Victoria, Australia; Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Victoria, Australia; Monash Data Futures Institute, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Robin B Gasser
- Department of Veterinary Bioscience, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Ben Amara W, Djebbi S, Khemakhem MM. Evolutionary History of the DD41D Family of Tc1/Mariner Transposons in Two Mayetiola Species. Biochem Genet 2024:10.1007/s10528-024-10898-z. [PMID: 39117934 DOI: 10.1007/s10528-024-10898-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
Tc1/mariner elements are ubiquitous in eukaryotic genomes including insects. They are diverse and divided into families and sub-families. The DD34D family including mauritiana and irritans subfamilies have already been identified in two closely related species of Cecidomyiids M. destructor and M. hordei. In the current study the de novo and similarity-based methods allowed the identification for the first time of seven consensuses in M. destructor and two consensuses in M. hordei belonging to DD41D family whereas the in vitro method allowed the amplification of two and three elements in these two species respectively. Most of identified elements accumulated different mutations and long deletions spanning the N-terminal region of the transposase. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the DD41D elements were clustered in two groups belonging to rosa and Long-TIR subfamilies. The age estimation of the last transposition events of the identified Tc1/mariner elements in M. destructor showed different evolutionary histories. Indeed, irritans elements have oscillated between periods of silencing and reappearance while rosa and mauritiana elements have shown regular activity with large recent bursts. The study of insertion sites showed that they are mostly intronic and that some recently transposed elements occurred in genes linked to putative DNA-binding domains and enzymes involved in metabolic chains. Thus, this study gave evidence of the existence of DD41D family in two Mayetiola species and an insight on their evolutionary history.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wiem Ben Amara
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Biotechnology (LR01ES05), Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, 1068, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Salma Djebbi
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Biotechnology (LR01ES05), Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, 1068, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Maha Mezghani Khemakhem
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Biotechnology (LR01ES05), Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, 1068, Tunis, Tunisia.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Cappucci U, Proietti M, Casale AM, Schiavo S, Chiavarini S, Accardo S, Manzo S, Piacentini L. Assessing genotoxic effects of plastic leachates in Drosophila melanogaster. CHEMOSPHERE 2024; 361:142440. [PMID: 38821133 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/02/2024]
Abstract
Plastic polymers were largely added with chemical substances to be utilized in the items and product manufacturing. The leachability of these substances is a matter of concern given the wide amount of plastic waste, particularly in terrestrial environments, where soil represents a sink for these novel contaminants and a possible pathway of human health risk. In this study, we integrated genetic, molecular, and behavioral approaches to comparatively evaluate toxicological effects of plastic leachates, virgin and oxodegradable polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), in Drosophila melanogaster, a novel in vivo model organism for environmental monitoring studies and (eco)toxicological research. The results of this study revealed that while conventional toxicological endpoints such as developmental times and longevity remain largely unaffected, exposure to plastic leachates induces chromosomal abnormalities and transposable element (TE) activation in neural tissues. The combined effects of DNA damage and TE mobilization contribute to genome instability and increase the likelihood of LOH events, thus potentiating tumor growth and metastatic behavior ofRasV12 clones. Collectively, these findings indicate that plastic leachates exert genotoxic effects in Drosophila thus highlighting potential risks associated with leachate-related plastic pollution and their implications for ecosystems and human health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ugo Cappucci
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "C. Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, P. le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Mirena Proietti
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "C. Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, P. le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Assunta Maria Casale
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "C. Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, P. le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Simona Schiavo
- ENEA, Department for Sustainability, Division Protection and Enhancement of the Natural Capital, P. le E. Fermi 1, 80055 Portici, Na, Italy
| | - Salvatore Chiavarini
- ENEA, Department for Sustainability, Division Protection and Enhancement of the Natural Capital, P. le E. Fermi 1, 80055 Portici, Na, Italy
| | - Sara Accardo
- ENEA, Department for Sustainability, Division Protection and Enhancement of the Natural Capital, P. le E. Fermi 1, 80055 Portici, Na, Italy
| | - Sonia Manzo
- ENEA, Department for Sustainability, Division Protection and Enhancement of the Natural Capital, P. le E. Fermi 1, 80055 Portici, Na, Italy.
| | - Lucia Piacentini
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "C. Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, P. le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Wu K, Qin D, Qian Y, Liu H. A new era of mutation rate analyses: Concepts and methods. Zool Res 2024; 45:767-780. [PMID: 38894520 PMCID: PMC11298668 DOI: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2024.058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
The mutation rate is a pivotal biological characteristic, intricately governed by natural selection and historically garnering considerable attention. Recent advances in high-throughput sequencing and analytical methodologies have profoundly transformed our understanding in this domain, ushering in an unprecedented era of mutation rate research. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the key concepts and methodologies frequently employed in the study of mutation rates. It examines various types of mutations, explores the evolutionary dynamics and associated theories, and synthesizes both classical and contemporary hypotheses. Furthermore, this review comprehensively explores recent advances in understanding germline and somatic mutations in animals and offers an overview of experimental methodologies, mutational patterns, molecular mechanisms, and driving forces influencing variations in mutation rates across species and tissues. Finally, it proposes several potential research directions and pressing questions for future investigations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kun Wu
- Center for Evolutionary & Organismal Biology and the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Danqi Qin
- Center for Evolutionary & Organismal Biology and the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Yang Qian
- Center for Evolutionary & Organismal Biology and the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
| | - Haoxuan Liu
- Center for Evolutionary & Organismal Biology and the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China. E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Zhang T, Tan S, Tang N, Li Y, Zhang C, Sun J, Guo Y, Gao H, Cai Y, Sun W, Wang C, Fu L, Ma H, Wu Y, Hu X, Zhang X, Gee P, Yan W, Zhao Y, Chen Q, Guo B, Wang H, Zhang YE. Heterologous survey of 130 DNA transposons in human cells highlights their functional divergence and expands the genome engineering toolbox. Cell 2024; 187:3741-3760.e30. [PMID: 38843831 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024]
Abstract
Experimental studies on DNA transposable elements (TEs) have been limited in scale, leading to a lack of understanding of the factors influencing transposition activity, evolutionary dynamics, and application potential as genome engineering tools. We predicted 130 active DNA TEs from 102 metazoan genomes and evaluated their activity in human cells. We identified 40 active (integration-competent) TEs, surpassing the cumulative number (20) of TEs found previously. With this unified comparative data, we found that the Tc1/mariner superfamily exhibits elevated activity, potentially explaining their pervasive horizontal transfers. Further functional characterization of TEs revealed additional divergence in features such as insertion bias. Remarkably, in CAR-T therapy for hematological and solid tumors, Mariner2_AG (MAG), the most active DNA TE identified, largely outperformed two widely used vectors, the lentiviral vector and the TE-based vector SB100X. Overall, this study highlights the varied transposition features and evolutionary dynamics of DNA TEs and increases the TE toolbox diversity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tongtong Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Reconstruction, State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Shengjun Tan
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Na Tang
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Reconstruction, State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Beijing Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Yuanqing Li
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Chenze Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Efficacy and Mechanism on Chinese Medicine for Metabolic Diseases, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Jing Sun
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Reconstruction, State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Yanyan Guo
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Hui Gao
- Rengene Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Beijing 100036, China
| | - Yujia Cai
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Reconstruction, State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Wen Sun
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Reconstruction, State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Beijing Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Chenxin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Reconstruction, State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Beijing Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Liangzheng Fu
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Reconstruction, State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Huijing Ma
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Yachao Wu
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Reconstruction, State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Xiaoxuan Hu
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Reconstruction, State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Xuechun Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Reconstruction, State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Peter Gee
- MaxCyte Inc., Rockville, MD 20850, USA
| | - Weihua Yan
- Cold Spring Biotech Corp., Beijing 100031, China
| | - Yahui Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Qiang Chen
- Department of Biotherapy, Cancer Center and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Baocheng Guo
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Academy of Plateau Science and Sustainability, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, China
| | - Haoyi Wang
- Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Reconstruction, State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Beijing Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Yong E Zhang
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Metanat Y, Viktor P, Amajd A, Kaur I, Hamed AM, Abed Al-Abadi NK, Alwan NH, Chaitanya MVNL, Lakshmaiya N, Ghildiyal P, Khalaf OM, Ciongradi CI, Sârbu I. The paths toward non-viral CAR-T cell manufacturing: A comprehensive review of state-of-the-art methods. Life Sci 2024; 348:122683. [PMID: 38702027 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2024.122683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
Although CAR-T cell therapy has emerged as a game-changer in cancer immunotherapy several bottlenecks limit its widespread use as a front-line therapy. Current protocols for the production of CAR-T cells rely mainly on the use of lentiviral/retroviral vectors. Nevertheless, according to the safety concerns around the use of viral vectors, there are several regulatory hurdles to their clinical use. Large-scale production of viral vectors under "Current Good Manufacturing Practice" (cGMP) involves rigorous quality control assessments and regulatory requirements that impose exorbitant costs on suppliers and as a result, lead to a significant increase in the cost of treatment. Pursuing an efficient non-viral method for genetic modification of immune cells is a hot topic in cell-based gene therapy. This study aims to investigate the current state-of-the-art in non-viral methods of CAR-T cell manufacturing. In the first part of this study, after reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of the clinical use of viral vectors, different non-viral vectors and the path of their clinical translation are discussed. These vectors include transposons (sleeping beauty, piggyBac, Tol2, and Tc Buster), programmable nucleases (ZFNs, TALENs, and CRISPR/Cas9), mRNA, plasmids, minicircles, and nanoplasmids. Afterward, various methods for efficient delivery of non-viral vectors into the cells are reviewed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yekta Metanat
- Faculty of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran
| | - Patrik Viktor
- Óbuda University, Karoly Keleti faculty, Tavaszmező u. 15-17, H-1084 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Ayesha Amajd
- Faculty of Transport and Aviation Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Krasińskiego 8 Street, 40-019 Katowice, Poland
| | - Irwanjot Kaur
- Department of Biotechnology and Genetics, Jain (Deemed-to-be) University, Bangalore, Karnataka, India; Department of Allied Healthcare and Sciences, Vivekananda Global University, Jaipur, Rajasthan-303012, India
| | | | | | | | - M V N L Chaitanya
- School of pharmaceutical sciences, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar-Delhi G.T. Road, Phagwara, Punjab - 144411, India
| | | | - Pallavi Ghildiyal
- Uttaranchal Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun, India
| | | | - Carmen Iulia Ciongradi
- 2nd Department of Surgery-Pediatric Surgery and Orthopedics, "Grigore T. Popa" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iași, Romania.
| | - Ioan Sârbu
- 2nd Department of Surgery-Pediatric Surgery and Orthopedics, "Grigore T. Popa" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iași, Romania.
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Hua Y, Tay NES, Ye X, Owen JA, Liu H, Thompson RE, Muir TW. Protein Editing using a Concerted Transposition Reaction. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.03.597171. [PMID: 38895383 PMCID: PMC11185735 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.03.597171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Protein engineering through the chemical or enzymatic ligation of polypeptide fragments has proven enormously powerful for studying countless biochemical processes in vitro. In general, this strategy necessitates a protein folding step following ligation of the unstructured fragments, a requirement that constrains the types of systems amenable to the approach. Here, we report an in vitro strategy that allows internal regions of target proteins to be replaced in a single operation. Conceptually, our system is analogous to a DNA transposition reaction, but employs orthogonal pairs of split inteins to swap out a designated region of a host protein with an exogenous molecular cassette. We show using isotopic labeling experiments that this 'protein transposition' reaction is concerted when the kinetics for the embedded intein pairs are suitably matched. Critically, this feature allows for efficient manipulation of protein primary structure in the context of a native fold. The utility of this method is illustrated using several protein systems including the multisubunit chromatin remodeling complex, ACF, where we also show protein transposition can occur in situ within the cell nucleus. By carrying out a molecular 'cut and paste' on a protein or protein complex under native folding conditions, our approach dramatically expands the scope of protein semisynthesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Xuanjia Ye
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Jeremy A. Owen
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Hengyuan Liu
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | | | - Tom W. Muir
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Brand CL, Oliver GT, Farkas IZ, Buszczak M, Levine MT. Recurrent Duplication and Diversification of a Vital DNA Repair Gene Family Across Drosophila. Mol Biol Evol 2024; 41:msae113. [PMID: 38865490 PMCID: PMC11210505 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Maintaining genome integrity is vital for organismal survival and reproduction. Essential, broadly conserved DNA repair pathways actively preserve genome integrity. However, many DNA repair proteins evolve adaptively. Ecological forces like UV exposure are classically cited drivers of DNA repair evolution. Intrinsic forces like repetitive DNA, which also imperil genome integrity, have received less attention. We recently reported that a Drosophila melanogaster-specific DNA satellite array triggered species-specific, adaptive evolution of a DNA repair protein called Spartan/MH. The Spartan family of proteases cleave hazardous, covalent crosslinks that form between DNA and proteins ("DNA-protein crosslink repair"). Appreciating that DNA satellites are both ubiquitous and universally fast-evolving, we hypothesized that satellite DNA turnover spurs adaptive evolution of DNA-protein crosslink repair beyond a single gene and beyond the D. melanogaster lineage. This hypothesis predicts pervasive Spartan gene family diversification across Drosophila species. To study the evolutionary history of the Drosophila Spartan gene family, we conducted population genetic, molecular evolution, phylogenomic, and tissue-specific expression analyses. We uncovered widespread signals of positive selection across multiple Spartan family genes and across multiple evolutionary timescales. We also detected recurrent Spartan family gene duplication, divergence, and gene loss. Finally, we found that ovary-enriched parent genes consistently birthed functionally diverged, testis-enriched daughter genes. To account for Spartan family diversification, we introduce a novel mechanistic model of antagonistic coevolution that links DNA satellite evolution and adaptive regulation of Spartan protease activity. This framework promises to accelerate our understanding of how DNA repeats drive recurrent evolutionary innovation to preserve genome integrity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cara L Brand
- Department of Biology and Epigenetics Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Genevieve T Oliver
- Department of Biology and Epigenetics Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Isabella Z Farkas
- Department of Biology and Epigenetics Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Michael Buszczak
- Department of Molecular Biology and Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Mia T Levine
- Department of Biology and Epigenetics Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Tang W, Liang P. The identification of retro-DNAs in primate genomes as DNA transposons mobilizing via retrotransposition. F1000Res 2024; 12:255. [PMID: 38915770 PMCID: PMC11195612 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.130043.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Mobile elements (MEs) constitute a major portion of the genome in primates and other higher eukaryotes, and they play important role in genome evolution and gene function. MEs can be divided into two fundamentally different classes: DNA transposons which transpose in the genome in a "cut-and-paste" style, and retrotransposons which propagate in a "copy-and-paste" fashion via a process involving transcription and reverse-transcription. In primate genomes, DNA transposons are mostly dead, while many retrotransposons are still highly active. We report here the identification of a unique group of MEs, which we call "retro-DNAs", for their combined characteristics of these two fundamentally different ME classes. Methods A comparative computational genomic approach was used to analyze the reference genome sequences of 10 primate species consisting of five apes, four monkeys, and marmoset. Results From our analysis, we identified a total of 1,750 retro-DNAs, representing 748 unique insertion events in the genomes of ten primate species including human. These retro-DNAs contain sequences of DNA transposons but lack the terminal inverted repeats (TIRs), the hallmark of DNA transposons. Instead, they show characteristics of retrotransposons, such as polyA tails, longer target-site duplications (TSDs), and the "TT/AAAA" insertion site motif, suggesting the use of the L1-based target- primed reverse transcription (TPRT) mechanism. At least 40% of these retro-DNAs locate into genic regions, presenting potentials for impacting gene function. More interestingly, some retro-DNAs, as well as their parent sites, show certain levels of expression, suggesting that they have the potential to create more retro-DNA copies in the present primate genomes. Conclusions Although small in number, the identification of these retro-DNAs reveals a new mean for propagating DNA transposons in primate genomes without active canonical DNA transposon activity. Our data also suggest that the TPRT machinery may transpose a wider variety of DNA sequences in the genomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wangxiangfu Tang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, L2S 3A1, Canada
| | - Ping Liang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, L2S 3A1, Canada
- Centre of Biotechnology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, L2S 3A1, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Chu J, Newman J, Cho J. Molecular Mimicry of Transposable Elements in Plants. PLANT & CELL PHYSIOLOGY 2024:pcae058. [PMID: 38808931 DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcae058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Revised: 04/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile DNA elements that are particularly abundant in the plant genomes. They have long been considered as junk DNA; however, a growing body of evidence suggests that TE insertions promote genetic diversity that is essential for the adaptive evolution of a species. Thus far, studies have mainly investigated the cis-acting regulatory roles of TEs generated by their insertions nearby or within the host genes. However, the trans-acting effects of TE-derived RNA and DNA remained obscure to date. TEs contain various regulatory elements within their sequences that can accommodate the binding of specific RNAs and proteins. Recently, it was suggested that some of these cellular regulators are shared between TEs and the host genes, and the competition for the common host factors underlies the fine-tuned developmental reprogramming. In this review, we will highlight and discuss the latest discoveries on the biological functions of plant TEs, with a particular focus on their competitive binding with specific developmental regulators.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jie Chu
- CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, Beijing 200032, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Josephine Newman
- Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Jungnam Cho
- Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Stephens D, Faghihi Z, Moniruzzaman M. Widespread occurrence and diverse origins of polintoviruses influence lineage-specific genome dynamics in stony corals. Virus Evol 2024; 10:veae039. [PMID: 38808038 PMCID: PMC11131425 DOI: 10.1093/ve/veae039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Stony corals (Order: Scleractinia) are central to vital marine habitats known as coral reefs. Numerous stressors in the Anthropocene are contributing to the ongoing decline in coral reef health and coverage. While viruses are established modulators of marine microbial dynamics, their interactions within the coral holobiont and impact on coral health and physiology remain unclear. To address this key knowledge gap, we investigated diverse stony coral genomes for 'endogenous' viruses. Our study uncovered a remarkable number of integrated viral elements recognized as 'Polintoviruses' (Class Polintoviricetes) in thirty Scleractinia genomes; with several species harboring hundreds to thousands of polintoviruses. We reveal massive paralogous expansion of polintoviruses in stony coral genomes, alongside the presence of integrated elements closely related to Polinton-like viruses (PLVs), a group of viruses that exist as free virions. These results suggest multiple integrations of polintoviruses and PLV-relatives, along with paralogous expansions, shaped stony coral genomes. Re-analysis of existing gene expression data reveals all polintovirus structural and non-structural hallmark genes are expressed, providing support for free virion production from polintoviruses. Our results, revealing a significant diversity of polintovirus across the Scleractinia order, open a new research avenue into polintovirus and their possible roles in disease, genomic plasticity, and environmental adaptation in this key group of organisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Danae Stephens
- Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, The Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149-1031, USA
| | - Zahra Faghihi
- Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, The Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149-1031, USA
| | - Mohammad Moniruzzaman
- Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, The Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149-1031, USA
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Peona V, Martelossi J, Almojil D, Bocharkina J, Brännström I, Brown M, Cang A, Carrasco-Valenzuela T, DeVries J, Doellman M, Elsner D, Espíndola-Hernández P, Montoya GF, Gaspar B, Zagorski D, Hałakuc P, Ivanovska B, Laumer C, Lehmann R, Boštjančić LL, Mashoodh R, Mazzoleni S, Mouton A, Nilsson MA, Pei Y, Potente G, Provataris P, Pardos-Blas JR, Raut R, Sbaffi T, Schwarz F, Stapley J, Stevens L, Sultana N, Symonova R, Tahami MS, Urzì A, Yang H, Yusuf A, Pecoraro C, Suh A. Teaching transposon classification as a means to crowd source the curation of repeat annotation - a tardigrade perspective. Mob DNA 2024; 15:10. [PMID: 38711146 DOI: 10.1186/s13100-024-00319-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The advancement of sequencing technologies results in the rapid release of hundreds of new genome assemblies a year providing unprecedented resources for the study of genome evolution. Within this context, the significance of in-depth analyses of repetitive elements, transposable elements (TEs) in particular, is increasingly recognized in understanding genome evolution. Despite the plethora of available bioinformatic tools for identifying and annotating TEs, the phylogenetic distance of the target species from a curated and classified database of repetitive element sequences constrains any automated annotation effort. Moreover, manual curation of raw repeat libraries is deemed essential due to the frequent incompleteness of automatically generated consensus sequences. RESULTS Here, we present an example of a crowd-sourcing effort aimed at curating and annotating TE libraries of two non-model species built around a collaborative, peer-reviewed teaching process. Manual curation and classification are time-consuming processes that offer limited short-term academic rewards and are typically confined to a few research groups where methods are taught through hands-on experience. Crowd-sourcing efforts could therefore offer a significant opportunity to bridge the gap between learning the methods of curation effectively and empowering the scientific community with high-quality, reusable repeat libraries. CONCLUSIONS The collaborative manual curation of TEs from two tardigrade species, for which there were no TE libraries available, resulted in the successful characterization of hundreds of new and diverse TEs in a reasonable time frame. Our crowd-sourcing setting can be used as a teaching reference guide for similar projects: A hidden treasure awaits discovery within non-model organisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Peona
- Department of Organismal Biology - Systematic Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SE-752 36, Sweden.
- Swiss Ornithological Institute Vogelwarte, Sempach, CH-6204, Switzerland.
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Natural History Museum, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Jacopo Martelossi
- Department of Biological Geological and Environmental Science, University of Bologna, Via Selmi 3, Bologna, 40126, Italy.
| | - Dareen Almojil
- New York University Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Ioana Brännström
- Natural History Museum, Oslo University, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Max Brown
- Anglia Ruskin University, East Rd, Cambridge, CB1 1PT, UK
| | | | - Tomàs Carrasco-Valenzuela
- Evolutionary Genetics Department, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, 10315, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin Center for Genomics in Biodiversity Research, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jon DeVries
- Reed College, Portland, OR, United States of America
| | - Meredith Doellman
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA
| | - Daniel Elsner
- Evolutionary Biology & Ecology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Pamela Espíndola-Hernández
- Research Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis (COMI), Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, D-85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | | | - Bence Gaspar
- Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Danijela Zagorski
- Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Průhonice, Czech Republic
| | - Paweł Hałakuc
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, Biological and Chemical Research Centre, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Beti Ivanovska
- Institute of Genetics and Biotechnology, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - Robert Lehmann
- Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ljudevit Luka Boštjančić
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE-TBG), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Rahia Mashoodh
- Department of Genetics, Environment & Evolution, Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research, University College London, London, UK
| | - Sofia Mazzoleni
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Alice Mouton
- INBIOS-Conservation Genetic Lab, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium
| | - Maria Anna Nilsson
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE-TBG), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Yifan Pei
- Department of Organismal Biology - Systematic Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SE-752 36, Sweden
- Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Adenauerallee 127, 53113, Bonn, Germany
| | - Giacomo Potente
- Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Panagiotis Provataris
- German Cancer Research Center, NGS Core Facility, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - José Ramón Pardos-Blas
- Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid, 28006, Spain
| | - Ravindra Raut
- Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology Durgapur, Durgapur, India
| | - Tomasa Sbaffi
- Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), National Research Council of Italy - Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Verbania, Italy
| | - Florian Schwarz
- Eurofins Genomics Europe Pharma and Diagnostics Products & Services Sales GmbH, Ebersberg, Germany
| | - Jessica Stapley
- Plant Pathology Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lewis Stevens
- Tree of Life, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Nusrat Sultana
- Department of Botany, Jagannath Univerity, Dhaka, 1100, Bangladesh
| | - Radka Symonova
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Mohadeseh S Tahami
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, Jyväskylä, 40014, Finland
| | - Alice Urzì
- Centogene GmbH, Am Strande 7, 18055, Rostock, Germany
| | - Heidi Yang
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Abdullah Yusuf
- Zell- und Molekularbiologie der Pflanzen, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | | | - Alexander Suh
- Department of Organismal Biology - Systematic Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SE-752 36, Sweden.
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TU, UK.
- Present address: Centre for Molecular Biodiversity Research, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Adenauerallee 160, 53113, Bonn, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Ho S, Theurkauf W, Rice N. piRNA-Guided Transposon Silencing and Response to Stress in Drosophila Germline. Viruses 2024; 16:714. [PMID: 38793595 PMCID: PMC11125864 DOI: 10.3390/v16050714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2024] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/27/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Transposons are integral genome constituents that can be domesticated for host functions, but they also represent a significant threat to genome stability. Transposon silencing is especially critical in the germline, which is dedicated to transmitting inherited genetic material. The small Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) have a deeply conserved function in transposon silencing in the germline. piRNA biogenesis and function are particularly well understood in Drosophila melanogaster, but some fundamental mechanisms remain elusive and there is growing evidence that the pathway is regulated in response to genotoxic and environmental stress. Here, we review transposon regulation by piRNAs and the piRNA pathway regulation in response to stress, focusing on the Drosophila female germline.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Ho
- Program in Molecular Medicine, University Campus, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA;
| | | | - Nicholas Rice
- Program in Molecular Medicine, University Campus, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA;
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Hassan NT, Galbraith JD, Adelson DL. Multiple horizontal transfer events of a DNA transposon into turtles, fishes, and a frog. Mob DNA 2024; 15:7. [PMID: 38605364 PMCID: PMC11008031 DOI: 10.1186/s13100-024-00318-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Horizontal transfer of transposable elements (HTT) has been reported across many species and the impact of such events on genome structure and function has been well described. However, few studies have focused on reptilian genomes, especially HTT events in Testudines (turtles). Here, as a consequence of investigating the repetitive content of Malaclemys terrapin terrapin (Diamondback turtle) we found a high similarity DNA transposon, annotated in RepBase as hAT-6_XT, shared between other turtle species, ray-finned fishes, and a frog. hAT-6_XT was notably absent in reptilian taxa closely related to turtles, such as crocodiles and birds. Successful invasion of DNA transposons into new genomes requires the conservation of specific residues in the encoded transposase, and through structural analysis, these residues were identified indicating some retention of functional transposition activity. We document six recent independent HTT events of a DNA transposon in turtles, which are known to have a low genomic evolutionary rate and ancient repeats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nozhat T Hassan
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
| | - James D Galbraith
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - David L Adelson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Wang H, Wu P, Xiong L, Kim HS, Kim JH, Ki JS. Nuclear genome of dinoflagellates: Size variation and insights into evolutionary mechanisms. Eur J Protistol 2024; 93:126061. [PMID: 38394997 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejop.2024.126061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Recent progress in high-throughput sequencing technologies has dramatically increased availability of genome data for prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Dinoflagellates have distinct chromosomes and a huge genome size, which make their genomic analysis complicated. Here, we reviewed the nuclear genomes of core dinoflagellates, focusing on the genome and cell size. Till now, the genome sizes of several dinoflagellates (more than 25) have been measured by certain methods (e.g., flow cytometry), showing a range of 3-250 pg of genomic DNA per cell. In contrast to their relatively small cell size, their genomes are huge (about 1-80 times the human haploid genome). In the present study, we collected the genome and cell size data of dinoflagellates and compared their relationships. We found that dinoflagellate genome size exhibits a positive correlation with cell size. On the other hand, we recognized that the genome size is not correlated with phylogenetic relatedness. These may be caused by genome duplication, increased gene copy number, repetitive non-coding DNA, transposon expansion, horizontal gene transfer, organelle-to-nucleus gene transfer, and/or mRNA reintegration into the genome. Ultimate verification of these factors as potential causative mechanisms would require sequencing of more dinoflagellate genomes in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hui Wang
- Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Typical Environmental Pollution and Health Hazards, School of Public Health, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, China; Department of Life Science, Sangmyung University, Seoul 03016, Republic of Korea
| | - Peiling Wu
- Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Typical Environmental Pollution and Health Hazards, School of Public Health, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, China
| | - Lu Xiong
- Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Typical Environmental Pollution and Health Hazards, School of Public Health, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, China
| | - Han-Sol Kim
- Department of Life Science, Sangmyung University, Seoul 03016, Republic of Korea
| | - Jin Ho Kim
- Department of Earth and Marine Science, College of Ocean Sciences, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, Republic of Korea
| | - Jang-Seu Ki
- Department of Life Science, Sangmyung University, Seoul 03016, Republic of Korea; Department of Biotechnology, Sangmyung University, Seoul 03016, Republic of Korea.
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Acuto O. T-cell virtuosity in ''knowing thyself". Front Immunol 2024; 15:1343575. [PMID: 38415261 PMCID: PMC10896960 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1343575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) I and II and the αβ T-cell antigen receptor (TCRαβ) govern fundamental traits of adaptive immunity. They form a membrane-borne ligand-receptor system weighing host proteome integrity to detect contamination by nonself proteins. MHC-I and -II exhibit the "MHC-fold", which is able to bind a large assortment of short peptides as proxies for self and nonself proteins. The ensuing varying surfaces are mandatory ligands for Ig-like TCRαβ highly mutable binding sites. Conserved molecular signatures guide TCRαβ ligand binding sites to focus on the MHC-fold (MHC-restriction) while leaving many opportunities for its most hypervariable determinants to contact the peptide. This riveting molecular strategy affords many options for binding energy compatible with specific recognition and signalling aimed to eradicated microbial pathogens and cancer cells. While the molecular foundations of αβ T-cell adaptive immunity are largely understood, uncertainty persists on how peptide-MHC binding induces the TCRαβ signals that instruct cell-fate decisions. Solving this mystery is another milestone for understanding αβ T-cells' self/nonself discrimination. Recent developments revealing the innermost links between TCRαβ structural dynamics and signalling modality should help dissipate this long-sought-after enigma.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Oreste Acuto
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Arnqvist G, Westerberg I, Galbraith J, Sayadi A, Scofield DG, Olsen RA, Immonen E, Bonath F, Ewels P, Suh A. A chromosome-level assembly of the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus genome with annotation of its repetitive elements. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2024; 14:jkad266. [PMID: 38092066 PMCID: PMC10849321 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkad266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Callosobruchus maculatus is a major agricultural pest of legume crops worldwide and an established model system in ecology and evolution. Yet, current molecular biological resources for this species are limited. Here, we employ Hi-C sequencing to generate a greatly improved genome assembly and we annotate its repetitive elements in a dedicated in-depth effort where we manually curate and classify the most abundant unclassified repeat subfamilies. We present a scaffolded chromosome-level assembly, which is 1.01 Gb in total length with 86% being contained within the 9 autosomes and the X chromosome. Repetitive sequences accounted for 70% of the total assembly. DNA transposons covered 18% of the genome, with the most abundant superfamily being Tc1-Mariner (9.75% of the genome). This new chromosome-level genome assembly of C. maculatus will enable future genetic and evolutionary studies not only of this important species but of beetles more generally.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Göran Arnqvist
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala SE75236, Sweden
| | - Ivar Westerberg
- Systematic Biology, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala SE75236, Sweden
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm SE10691, Sweden
| | - James Galbraith
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia
- Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Ahmed Sayadi
- Rheumatology, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala SE75236, Sweden
| | - Douglas G Scofield
- Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala SE75236, Sweden
- Uppsala Multidisciplinary Center for Advanced Computational Science, Uppsala University, Uppsala SE75236, Sweden
| | - Remi-André Olsen
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Stockholm SE10691, Sweden
| | - Elina Immonen
- Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala SE75236, Sweden
| | - Franziska Bonath
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm SE10691, Sweden
| | | | - Alexander Suh
- Systematic Biology, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala SE75236, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Monier M, Nuez I, Borne F, Courtier-Orgogozo V. Higher evolutionary dynamics of gene copy number for Drosophila glue genes located near short repeat sequences. BMC Ecol Evol 2024; 24:18. [PMID: 38308233 PMCID: PMC10835880 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-023-02178-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND During evolution, genes can experience duplications, losses, inversions and gene conversions. Why certain genes are more dynamic than others is poorly understood. Here we examine how several Sgs genes encoding glue proteins, which make up a bioadhesive that sticks the animal during metamorphosis, have evolved in Drosophila species. RESULTS We examined high-quality genome assemblies of 24 Drosophila species to study the evolutionary dynamics of four glue genes that are present in D. melanogaster and are part of the same gene family - Sgs1, Sgs3, Sgs7 and Sgs8 - across approximately 30 millions of years. We annotated a total of 102 Sgs genes and grouped them into 4 subfamilies. We present here a new nomenclature for these Sgs genes based on protein sequence conservation, genomic location and presence/absence of internal repeats. Two types of glue genes were uncovered. The first category (Sgs1, Sgs3x, Sgs3e) showed a few gene losses but no duplication, no local inversion and no gene conversion. The second group (Sgs3b, Sgs7, Sgs8) exhibited multiple events of gene losses, gene duplications, local inversions and gene conversions. Our data suggest that the presence of short "new glue" genes near the genes of the latter group may have accelerated their dynamics. CONCLUSIONS Our comparative analysis suggests that the evolutionary dynamics of glue genes is influenced by genomic context. Our molecular, phylogenetic and comparative analysis of the four glue genes Sgs1, Sgs3, Sgs7 and Sgs8 provides the foundation for investigating the role of the various glue genes during Drosophila life.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manon Monier
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Isabelle Nuez
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Flora Borne
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod, 75013, Paris, France
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York city, New York, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
27
|
Liang Y, Qu X, Shah NM, Wang T. Towards targeting transposable elements for cancer therapy. Nat Rev Cancer 2024; 24:123-140. [PMID: 38228901 DOI: 10.1038/s41568-023-00653-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) represent almost half of the human genome. Historically deemed 'junk DNA', recent technological advancements have stimulated a wave of research into the functional impact of TEs on gene-regulatory networks in evolution and development, as well as in diseases including cancer. The genetic and epigenetic evolution of cancer involves the exploitation of TEs, whereby TEs contribute directly to cancer-specific gene activities. This Review provides a perspective on the role of TEs in cancer as being a 'double-edged sword', both promoting cancer evolution and representing a vulnerability that could be exploited in cancer therapy. We discuss how TEs affect transcriptome regulation and other cellular processes in cancer. We highlight the potential of TEs as therapeutic targets for cancer. We also summarize technical hurdles in the characterization of TEs with genomic assays. Last, we outline open questions and exciting future research avenues.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yonghao Liang
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
- Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Xuan Qu
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
- Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Nakul M Shah
- Division of Cancer Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Ting Wang
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
- Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
- McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Cang FA, Welles SR, Wong J, Ziaee M, Dlugosch KM. Genome size variation and evolution during invasive range expansion in an introduced plant. Evol Appl 2024; 17:e13624. [PMID: 38283607 PMCID: PMC10810172 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Plants demonstrate exceptional variation in genome size across species, and their genome sizes can also vary dramatically across individuals and populations within species. This aspect of genetic variation can have consequences for traits and fitness, but few studies attributed genome size differentiation to ecological and evolutionary processes. Biological invasions present particularly useful natural laboratories to infer selective agents that might drive genome size shifts across environments and population histories. Here, we test hypotheses for the evolutionary causes of genome size variation across 14 invading populations of yellow starthistle, Centaurea solstitialis, in California, United States. We use a survey of genome sizes and trait variation to ask: (1) Is variation in genome size associated with developmental trait variation? (2) Are genome sizes smaller toward the leading edge of the expansion, consistent with selection for "colonizer" traits? Or alternatively, does genome size increase toward the leading edge of the expansion, consistent with predicted consequences of founder effects and drift? (3) Finally, are genome sizes smaller at higher elevations, consistent with selection for shorter development times? We found that 2C DNA content varied 1.21-fold among all samples, and was associated with flowering time variation, such that plants with larger genomes reproduced later, with lower lifetime capitula production. Genome sizes increased toward the leading edge of the invasion, but tended to decrease at higher elevations, consistent with genetic drift during range expansion but potentially strong selection for smaller genomes and faster development time at higher elevations. These results demonstrate how genome size variation can contribute to traits directly tied to reproductive success, and how selection and drift can shape that variation. We highlight the influence of genome size on dynamics underlying a rapid range expansion in a highly problematic invasive plant.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- F. Alice Cang
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizonaUSA
| | - Shana R. Welles
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizonaUSA
- Utah Valley UniversityOremUtahUSA
| | - Jenny Wong
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizonaUSA
| | - Maia Ziaee
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizonaUSA
- Mills CollegeOaklandCaliforniaUSA
| | - Katrina M. Dlugosch
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizonaUSA
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Schmitz M, Querques I. DNA on the move: mechanisms, functions and applications of transposable elements. FEBS Open Bio 2024; 14:13-22. [PMID: 38041553 PMCID: PMC10761935 DOI: 10.1002/2211-5463.13743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Transposons are mobile genetic elements that have invaded all domains of life by moving between and within their host genomes. Due to their mobility (or transposition), transposons facilitate horizontal gene transfer in bacteria and foster the evolution of new molecular functions in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. As transposition can lead to detrimental genomic rearrangements, organisms have evolved a multitude of molecular strategies to control transposons, including genome defense mechanisms provided by CRISPR-Cas systems. Apart from their biological impacts on genomes, DNA transposons have been leveraged as efficient gene insertion vectors in basic research, transgenesis and gene therapy. However, the close to random insertion profile of transposon-based tools limits their programmability and safety. Despite recent advances brought by the development of CRISPR-associated genome editing nucleases, a strategy for efficient insertion of large, multi-kilobase transgenes at user-defined genomic sites is currently challenging. The discovery and experimental characterization of bacterial CRISPR-associated transposons (CASTs) led to the attractive hypothesis that these systems could be repurposed as programmable, site-specific gene integration technologies. Here, we provide a broad overview of the molecular mechanisms underpinning DNA transposition and of its biological and technological impact. The second focus of the article is to describe recent mechanistic and functional analyses of CAST transposition. Finally, current challenges and desired future advances of CAST-based genome engineering applications are briefly discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Irma Querques
- Department of BiochemistryUniversity of ZurichSwitzerland
- Max Perutz Labs, Vienna Biocenter Campus (VBC)Austria
- Department of Structural and Computational Biology, Center for Molecular BiologyUniversity of ViennaAustria
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Zhao Y, Su C, He B, Nie R, Wang Y, Ma J, Song J, Yang Q, Hao J. Dispersal from the Qinghai-Tibet plateau by a high-altitude butterfly is associated with rapid expansion and reorganization of its genome. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8190. [PMID: 38081828 PMCID: PMC10713551 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44023-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Parnassius glacialis is a typical "Out of the QTP" alpine butterfly that originated on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) and dispersed into relatively low-altitude mountainous. Here we assemble a chromosome-level genome of P. glacialis and resequence 9 populations in order to explore the genome evolution and local adaptation of this species. These results indicated that the rapid accumulation and slow unequal recombination of transposable elements (TEs) contributed to the formation of its large genome. Several ribosomal gene families showed extensive expansion and selective evolution through transposon-mediated processed pseudogenes. Additionally, massive structural variations (SVs) of TEs affected the genetic differentiation of low-altitude populations. These low-altitude populations might have experienced a genetic bottleneck in the past and harbor genes with selective signatures which may be responsible for the potential adaptation to low-altitude environments. These results provide a foundation for understanding genome evolution and local adaptation for "Out of the QTP" of P. glacialis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Youjie Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, 241000, China
- College of Big Data and Intelligent Engineering, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, 650224, Yunnan, China
| | - Chengyong Su
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, 241000, China
| | - Bo He
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, 241000, China
| | - Ruie Nie
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, 241000, China
| | - Yunliang Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, 241000, China
| | - Junye Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China
| | - Jingyu Song
- College of Animal Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271000, China
| | - Qun Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China.
- Nanjing College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 211135, China.
| | - Jiasheng Hao
- College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, 241000, China.
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Jeong DE, Sundrani S, Hall RN, Krupovic M, Koonin EV, Fire AZ. DNA Polymerase Diversity Reveals Multiple Incursions of Polintons During Nematode Evolution. Mol Biol Evol 2023; 40:msad274. [PMID: 38069639 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msad274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Polintons are double-stranded DNA, virus-like self-synthesizing transposons widely found in eukaryotic genomes. Recent metagenomic discoveries of Polinton-like viruses are consistent with the hypothesis that Polintons invade eukaryotic host genomes through infectious viral particles. Nematode genomes contain multiple copies of Polintons and provide an opportunity to explore the natural distribution and evolution of Polintons during this process. We performed an extensive search of Polintons across nematode genomes, identifying multiple full-length Polinton copies in several species. We provide evidence of both ancient Polinton integrations and recent mobility in strains of the same nematode species. In addition to the major nematode Polinton family, we identified a group of Polintons that are overall closely related to the major family but encode a distinct protein-primed DNA polymerase B (pPolB) that is related to homologs from a different group of Polintons present outside of the Nematoda. Phylogenetic analyses on the pPolBs support the evolutionary scenarios in which these extrinsic pPolBs that seem to derive from Polinton families present in oomycetes and molluscs replaced the canonical pPolB in subsets of Polintons found in terrestrial and marine nematodes, respectively, suggesting interphylum horizontal gene transfers. The pPolBs of the terrestrial nematode and oomycete Polintons share a unique feature, an insertion of an HNH nuclease domain, whereas the pPolBs in the marine nematode Polintons share an insertion of a VSR nuclease domain with marine mollusc pPolBs. We hypothesize that horizontal gene transfer occurs among Polintons from widely different but cohabiting hosts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dae-Eun Jeong
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Sameer Sundrani
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Present address: Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | - Mart Krupovic
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Archaeal Virology Unit, Paris, France
| | - Eugene V Koonin
- National National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Andrew Z Fire
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Gao D. Introduction of Plant Transposon Annotation for Beginners. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1468. [PMID: 38132293 PMCID: PMC10741241 DOI: 10.3390/biology12121468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Transposons are mobile DNA sequences that contribute large fractions of many plant genomes. They provide exclusive resources for tracking gene and genome evolution and for developing molecular tools for basic and applied research. Despite extensive efforts, it is still challenging to accurately annotate transposons, especially for beginners, as transposon prediction requires necessary expertise in both transposon biology and bioinformatics. Moreover, the complexity of plant genomes and the dynamic evolution of transposons also bring difficulties for genome-wide transposon discovery. This review summarizes the three major strategies for transposon detection including repeat-based, structure-based, and homology-based annotation, and introduces the transposon superfamilies identified in plants thus far, and some related bioinformatics resources for detecting plant transposons. Furthermore, it describes transposon classification and explains why the terms 'autonomous' and 'non-autonomous' cannot be used to classify the superfamilies of transposons. Lastly, this review also discusses how to identify misannotated transposons and improve the quality of the transposon database. This review provides helpful information about plant transposons and a beginner's guide on annotating these repetitive sequences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dongying Gao
- Small Grains and Potato Germplasm Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Aberdeen, ID 83210, USA
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Chen X, Wang Z, Zhang C, Hu J, Lu Y, Zhou H, Mei Y, Cong Y, Guo F, Wang Y, He K, Liu Y, Li F. Unraveling the complex evolutionary history of lepidopteran chromosomes through ancestral chromosome reconstruction and novel chromosome nomenclature. BMC Biol 2023; 21:265. [PMID: 37981687 PMCID: PMC10658929 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01762-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lepidoptera is one of the most species-rich animal groups, with substantial karyotype variations among species due to chromosomal rearrangements. Knowledge of the evolutionary patterns of lepidopteran chromosomes still needs to be improved. RESULTS Here, we used chromosome-level genome assemblies of 185 lepidopteran insects to reconstruct an ancestral reference genome and proposed a new chromosome nomenclature. Thus, we renamed over 5000 extant chromosomes with this system, revealing the historical events of chromosomal rearrangements and their features. Additionally, our findings indicate that, compared with autosomes, the Z chromosome in Lepidoptera underwent a fast loss of conserved genes, rapid acquisition of lineage-specific genes, and a low rate of gene duplication. Moreover, we presented evidence that all available 67 W chromosomes originated from a common ancestor chromosome, with four neo-W chromosomes identified, including one generated by fusion with an autosome and three derived through horizontal gene transfer. We also detected nearly 4000 inter-chromosomal gene movement events. Notably, Geminin is transferred from the autosome to the Z chromosome. When located on the autosome, Geminin shows female-biased expression, but on the Z chromosome, it exhibits male-biased expression. This contributes to the sexual dimorphism of body size in silkworms. CONCLUSIONS Our study sheds light on the complex evolutionary history of lepidopteran chromosomes based on ancestral chromosome reconstruction and novel chromosome nomenclature.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xi Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zuoqi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chaowei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jingheng Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yueqi Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hang Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yang Mei
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yuyang Cong
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Fangyuan Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yaqin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Kang He
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ying Liu
- Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control of Agricultural Transboundary Pests of Yunnan Province and Agricultural Environment/ Agriculture Environment and Resources Institute, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Fei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Rogers TF, Simakov O. Emerging questions on the mechanisms and dynamics of 3D genome evolution in spiralians. Brief Funct Genomics 2023; 22:533-542. [PMID: 37815133 PMCID: PMC10658181 DOI: 10.1093/bfgp/elad043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Information on how 3D genome topology emerged in animal evolution, how stable it is during development, its role in the evolution of phenotypic novelties and how exactly it affects gene expression is highly debated. So far, data to address these questions are lacking with the exception of a few key model species. Several gene regulatory mechanisms have been proposed, including scenarios where genome topology has little to no impact on gene expression, and vice versa. The ancient and diverse clade of spiralians may provide a crucial testing ground for such mechanisms. Sprialians have followed distinct evolutionary trajectories, with some clades experiencing genome expansions and/or large-scale genome rearrangements, and others undergoing genome contraction, substantially impacting their size and organisation. These changes have been associated with many phenotypic innovations in this clade. In this review, we describe how emerging genome topology data, along with functional tools, allow for testing these scenarios and discuss their predicted outcomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thea F Rogers
- Department of Neuroscience and Developmental Biology, Division of Molecular Evolution and Development, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Oleg Simakov
- Department of Neuroscience and Developmental Biology, Division of Molecular Evolution and Development, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Baril T, Croll D. A pangenome-guided manually curated library of transposable elements for Zymoseptoria tritici. BMC Res Notes 2023; 16:335. [PMID: 37974222 PMCID: PMC10652580 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-023-06613-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES High-quality species-specific transposable element (TE) libraries are required for studies to elucidate the evolutionary dynamics of TEs and gain an understanding of their impacts on host genomes. Such high-quality TE resources are severely lacking for species in the fungal kingdom. To facilitate future studies on the putative role of TEs in rapid adaptation observed in the fungal wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici, we produced a manually curated TE library. This was generated by detecting TEs in 19 reference genome assemblies representing the global diversity of the species supplemented by multiple sister species genomes. Improvements over previous TE libraries have been made on TE boundary resolution, detection of ORFs, TE domains, terminal inverted repeats, and class-specific motifs. DATA DESCRIPTION A TE consensus library for Z. tritici formatted for use with RepeatMasker. This data is relevant to other researchers investigating TE-host evolutionary dynamics in Z. tritici or who are interested in comparative studies of the fungal kingdom. Further, this TE library can be used to improve gene annotation. Finally, this TE library increases the number of manually curated TE datasets, providing resources to further our understanding of TE diversity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Baril
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Rue -Argand 11, 2000, Neuchatel, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Croll
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Rue -Argand 11, 2000, Neuchatel, Switzerland.
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Pulver C, Grun D, Duc J, Sheppard S, Planet E, Coudray A, de Fondeville R, Pontis J, Trono D. Statistical learning quantifies transposable element-mediated cis-regulation. Genome Biol 2023; 24:258. [PMID: 37950299 PMCID: PMC10637000 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-023-03085-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Transposable elements (TEs) have colonized the genomes of most metazoans, and many TE-embedded sequences function as cis-regulatory elements (CREs) for genes involved in a wide range of biological processes from early embryogenesis to innate immune responses. Because of their repetitive nature, TEs have the potential to form CRE platforms enabling the coordinated and genome-wide regulation of protein-coding genes by only a handful of trans-acting transcription factors (TFs). RESULTS Here, we directly test this hypothesis through mathematical modeling and demonstrate that differences in expression at protein-coding genes alone are sufficient to estimate the magnitude and significance of TE-contributed cis-regulatory activities, even in contexts where TE-derived transcription fails to do so. We leverage hundreds of overexpression experiments and estimate that, overall, gene expression is influenced by TE-embedded CREs situated within approximately 500 kb of promoters. Focusing on the cis-regulatory potential of TEs within the gene regulatory network of human embryonic stem cells, we find that pluripotency-specific and evolutionarily young TE subfamilies can be reactivated by TFs involved in post-implantation embryogenesis. Finally, we show that TE subfamilies can be split into truly regulatorily active versus inactive fractions based on additional information such as matched epigenomic data, observing that TF binding may better predict TE cis-regulatory activity than differences in histone marks. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that TE-embedded CREs contribute to gene regulation during and beyond gastrulation. On a methodological level, we provide a statistical tool that infers TE-dependent cis-regulation from RNA-seq data alone, thus facilitating the study of TEs in the next-generation sequencing era.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cyril Pulver
- School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Delphine Grun
- School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Julien Duc
- School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Shaoline Sheppard
- School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Evarist Planet
- School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Alexandre Coudray
- School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Raphaël de Fondeville
- Swiss Data Science Center, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Julien Pontis
- School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- SOPHiA GENETICS SA, La Pièce 12, CH-1180, Rolle, Switzerland.
| | - Didier Trono
- School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Namasivayam S, Sun C, Bah AB, Oberstaller J, Pierre-Louis E, Etheridge RD, Feschotte C, Pritham EJ, Kissinger JC. Massive invasion of organellar DNA drives nuclear genome evolution in Toxoplasma. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2308569120. [PMID: 37917792 PMCID: PMC10636329 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2308569120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic protist pathogen that infects up to one third of the human population. This apicomplexan parasite contains three genome sequences: nuclear (65 Mb); plastid organellar, ptDNA (35 kb); and mitochondrial organellar, mtDNA (5.9 kb of non-repetitive sequence). We find that the nuclear genome contains a significant amount of NUMTs (nuclear integrants of mitochondrial DNA) and NUPTs (nuclear integrants of plastid DNA) that are continuously acquired and represent a significant source of intraspecific genetic variation. NUOT (nuclear DNA of organellar origin) accretion has generated 1.6% of the extant T. gondii ME49 nuclear genome-the highest fraction ever reported in any organism. NUOTs are primarily found in organisms that retain the non-homologous end-joining repair pathway. Significant movement of organellar DNA was experimentally captured via amplicon sequencing of a CRISPR-induced double-strand break in non-homologous end-joining repair competent, but not ku80 mutant, Toxoplasma parasites. Comparisons with Neospora caninum, a species that diverged from Toxoplasma ~28 mya, revealed that the movement and fixation of five NUMTs predates the split of the two genera. This unexpected level of NUMT conservation suggests evolutionary constraint for cellular function. Most NUMT insertions reside within (60%) or nearby genes (23% within 1.5 kb), and reporter assays indicate that some NUMTs have the ability to function as cis-regulatory elements modulating gene expression. Together, these findings portray a role for organellar sequence insertion in dynamically shaping the genomic architecture and likely contributing to adaptation and phenotypic changes in this important human pathogen.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Cheng Sun
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX76019
| | - Assiatu B. Bah
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX76019
| | | | - Edwin Pierre-Louis
- Department of Cellular Biology, Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA30602
| | - Ronald Drew Etheridge
- Department of Cellular Biology, Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA30602
| | - Cedric Feschotte
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX76019
| | - Ellen J. Pritham
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX76019
| | - Jessica C. Kissinger
- Department of Genetics, Institute of Bioinformatics, Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA30602
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Bush ZD, Naftaly AFS, Dinwiddie D, Albers C, Hillers KJ, Libuda DE. Comprehensive detection of structural variation and transposable element differences between wild type laboratory lineages of C. elegans. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.13.523974. [PMID: 37961628 PMCID: PMC10634987 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.13.523974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Genomic structural variations (SVs) and transposable elements (TEs) can be significant contributors to genome evolution, altered gene expression, and risk of genetic diseases. Recent advancements in long-read sequencing have greatly improved the quality of de novo genome assemblies and enhanced the detection of sequence variants at the scale of hundreds or thousands of bases. Comparisons between two diverged wild isolates of Caenorhabditis elegans, the Bristol and Hawaiian strains, have been widely utilized in the analysis of small genetic variations. Genetic drift, including SVs and rearrangements of repeated sequences such as TEs, can occur over time from long-term maintenance of wild type isolates within the laboratory. To comprehensively detect both large and small structural variations as well as TEs due to genetic drift, we generated de novo genome assemblies and annotations for each strain from our lab collection using both long- and short-read sequencing and compared our assemblies and annotations with that of other lab wild type strains. Within our lab assemblies, we annotate over 3.1Mb of sequence divergence between the Bristol and Hawaiian isolates: 337,584 SNPs, 94,503 small insertion-deletions (<50bp), and 4,334 structural variations (>50bp). Further, we define the location and movement of specific DNA TEs between N2 Bristol and CB4856 Hawaiian wild type isolates. Specifically, we find the N2 Bristol genome has 20.6% more TEs from the Tc1/mariner family than the CB4856 Hawaiian genome. Moreover, we identified Zator elements as the most abundant and mobile TE family in the genome. Using specific TE sequences with unique SNPs, we also identify 38 TEs that moved intrachromosomally and 9 TEs that moved interchromosomally between the N2 Bristol and CB4856 Hawaiian genomes. By comparing the de novo genome assembly of our lab collection Bristol isolate to the VC2010 Bristol assembly, we also reveal that lab lineages display over 2 Mb of total variation: 1,162 SNPs, 1,528 indels, and 897 SVs with 95% of the variation due to SVs. Overall, our work demonstrates the unique contribution of SVs and TEs to variation and genetic drift between wild type laboratory strains assumed to be isogenic despite growing evidence of genetic drift and phenotypic variation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zachary D. Bush
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, University of Oregon, 1229 Franklin Blvd Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| | - Alice F. S. Naftaly
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, University of Oregon, 1229 Franklin Blvd Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| | - Devin Dinwiddie
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, University of Oregon, 1229 Franklin Blvd Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| | - Cora Albers
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, University of Oregon, 1229 Franklin Blvd Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| | - Kenneth J. Hillers
- Biological Sciences Department, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, USA
| | - Diana E. Libuda
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, University of Oregon, 1229 Franklin Blvd Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Chen Z, Jin W, Hoover A, Chao Y, Ma Y. Decoding the microbiome: advances in genetic manipulation for gut bacteria. Trends Microbiol 2023; 31:1143-1161. [PMID: 37394299 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2023.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Studies of the gut microbiota have revealed associations between specific bacterial species or community compositions with health and disease, yet the causal mechanisms underlying microbiota gene-host interactions remain poorly understood. This is partly due to limited genetic manipulation (GM) tools for gut bacteria. Here, we review current advances and challenges in the development of GM approaches, including clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas and transposase-based systems in either model or non-model gut bacteria. By overcoming barriers to 'taming' the gut microbiome, GM tools allow molecular understanding of host-microbiome associations and accelerate microbiome engineering for clinical treatment of cancer and metabolic disorders. Finally, we provide perspectives on the future development of GM for gut microbiome species, where more effort should be placed on assembling a generalized GM pipeline to accelerate the application of groundbreaking GM tools in non-model gut bacteria towards both basic understanding and clinical translation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ziying Chen
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200031, China; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China; The Center for Microbes, Development and Health (CMDH), CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Wenbing Jin
- Jill Roberts Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY 10021, USA; Friedman Center for Nutrition and Inflammation, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Alex Hoover
- Ben May Department for Cancer Research, the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Yanjie Chao
- The Center for Microbes, Development and Health (CMDH), CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
| | - Yanlei Ma
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200031, China; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China.
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Shi S, Puzakov MV, Puzakova LV, Ulupova YN, Xiang K, Wang B, Gao B, Song C. Hiker, a new family of DNA transposons encoding transposases with DD35E motifs, displays a distinct phylogenetic relationship with most known DNA transposon families of IS630-Tc1-mariner (ITm). Mol Phylogenet Evol 2023; 188:107906. [PMID: 37586577 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2023] [Revised: 08/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
DNA transposons play a crucial role in determining the size and structure of eukaryotic genomes. In this study, a new family of IS630-Tc1-mariner (ITm) DNA transposons, named Hiker (HK), was identified. HK is characterized by a DD35E catalytic domain and is distinct from all previously known families of the ITm group. Phylogenetic analyses showed that DD35E/Hiker forms a monophyletic clade with DD34E/Gambol, indicating that they may represent a separate superfamily of ITm. A total of 178 Hiker species were identified, with 170 found mainly in Actinopterygii, one in Chondrichthyes, six in Anura and one in Mollusca. Gambol (GM), on the other hand, are found in invertebrates, with 18 in Arthropoda and one in Platyhelminthes. Hiker transposons have a total length ranging from 2.14 to 3.67 kb and contain a single open reading frame that encodes a protein of approximately 370 amino acids (range 311-413 aa). They are flanked by short terminal inverted repeats (TIRs) of 16-30 base pairs and two base pair (TA) target-site duplications. In contrast, most transposons of the Gambol family have a total length of 1.35-5.96 kb, encode a transposase protein of approximately 350 amino acids (range 306-374 aa), and are flanked by TIRs that range from 32 to 1097 bp in length. Both Hiker and Gambol transposases have several conserved motifs, including helix-turn-helix (HTH) motifs and a DDE domain. Our study observed multiple amplification waves and repeated horizontal transfer (HT) events of HK transposons in vertebrate genomes, indicating their role in diversifying and shaping the genomes of Actinopterygii, Chondrichthyes, and Anura. Conversely, GM transposons showed few Horizontal transfer events. According to cell-based transposition assays, most HK transposons are likely inactive due to the truncated DNA binding domains of their transposases. We present an updated classification of the ITm group based on these findings, which will enhance the understanding of both the evolution of ITm transposons and that of their hosts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shasha Shi
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China
| | - Mikhail V Puzakov
- A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS, Lenninsky ave, 38 119991, Moscow, Russia
| | - Ludmila V Puzakova
- A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS, Lenninsky ave, 38 119991, Moscow, Russia
| | - Yulia N Ulupova
- A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS, Lenninsky ave, 38 119991, Moscow, Russia
| | - Kuilin Xiang
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China
| | - Binqing Wang
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China
| | - Bo Gao
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China
| | - Chengyi Song
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Gambelli A, Ferrando A, Boncristiani C, Schoeftner S. Regulation and function of R-loops at repetitive elements. Biochimie 2023; 214:141-155. [PMID: 37619810 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2023.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 08/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
R-loops are atypical, three-stranded nucleic acid structures that contain a stretch of RNA:DNA hybrids and an unpaired, single stranded DNA loop. R-loops are physiological relevant and can act as regulators of gene expression, chromatin structure, DNA damage repair and DNA replication. However, unscheduled and persistent R-loops are mutagenic and can mediate replication-transcription conflicts, leading to DNA damage and genome instability if left unchecked. Detailed transcriptome analysis unveiled that 85% of the human genome, including repetitive regions, hold transcriptional activity. This anticipates that R-loops management plays a central role for the regulation and integrity of genomes. This function is expected to have a particular relevance for repetitive sequences that make up to 75% of the human genome. Here, we review the impact of R-loops on the function and stability of repetitive regions such as centromeres, telomeres, rDNA arrays, transposable elements and triplet repeat expansions and discuss their relevance for associated pathological conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alice Gambelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Via E. Weiss 2, 34127, Trieste, Italy
| | - Alessandro Ferrando
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Via E. Weiss 2, 34127, Trieste, Italy
| | - Chiara Boncristiani
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Via E. Weiss 2, 34127, Trieste, Italy
| | - Stefan Schoeftner
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Via E. Weiss 2, 34127, Trieste, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
de Oliveira KKP, de Oliveira RR, Chalfun-Junior A. Small RNAs: Promising Molecules to Tackle Climate Change Impacts in Coffee Production. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:3531. [PMID: 37895993 PMCID: PMC10610182 DOI: 10.3390/plants12203531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
Over the centuries, human society has evolved based on the ability to select and use more adapted species for food supply, which means making plant species tastier and more productive in particular environmental conditions. However, nowadays, this scenario is highly threatened by climate change, especially by the changes in temperature and greenhouse gasses that directly affect photosynthesis, which highlights the need for strategic studies aiming at crop breeding and guaranteeing food security. This is especially worrying for crops with complex phenology, genomes with low variability, and the ones that support a large production chain, such as Coffea sp. L. In this context, recent advances shed some light on the genome function and transcriptional control, revealing small RNAs (sRNAs) that are responsible for environmental cues and could provide variability through gene expression regulation. Basically, sRNAs are responsive to environmental changes and act on the transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene silencing pathways that regulate gene expression and, consequently, biological processes. Here, we first discuss the predicted impact of climate changes on coffee plants and coffee chain production and then the role of sRNAs in response to environmental changes, especially temperature, in different species, together with their potential as tools for genetic improvement. Very few studies in coffee explored the relationship between sRNAs and environmental cues; thus, this review contributes to understanding coffee development in the face of climate change and towards new strategies of crop breeding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Antonio Chalfun-Junior
- Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Plant Physiology Sector, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras 3037, Brazil; (K.K.P.d.O.); (R.R.d.O.)
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Lawson HA, Liang Y, Wang T. Transposable elements in mammalian chromatin organization. Nat Rev Genet 2023; 24:712-723. [PMID: 37286742 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-023-00609-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile DNA elements that comprise almost 50% of mammalian genomic sequence. TEs are capable of making additional copies of themselves that integrate into new positions in host genomes. This unique property has had an important impact on mammalian genome evolution and on the regulation of gene expression because TE-derived sequences can function as cis-regulatory elements such as enhancers, promoters and silencers. Now, advances in our ability to identify and characterize TEs have revealed that TE-derived sequences also regulate gene expression by both maintaining and shaping 3D genome architecture. Studies are revealing how TEs contribute raw sequence that can give rise to the structures that shape chromatin organization, and thus gene expression, allowing for species-specific genome innovation and evolutionary novelty.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Heather A Lawson
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Yonghao Liang
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
- Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Ting Wang
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
- Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
- McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Meers C, Le HC, Pesari SR, Hoffmann FT, Walker MWG, Gezelle J, Tang S, Sternberg SH. Transposon-encoded nucleases use guide RNAs to promote their selfish spread. Nature 2023; 622:863-871. [PMID: 37758954 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06597-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Insertion sequences are compact and pervasive transposable elements found in bacteria, which encode only the genes necessary for their mobilization and maintenance1. IS200- and IS605-family transposons undergo 'peel-and-paste' transposition catalysed by a TnpA transposase2, but they also encode diverse, TnpB- and IscB-family proteins that are evolutionarily related to the CRISPR-associated effectors Cas12 and Cas9, respectively3,4. Recent studies have demonstrated that TnpB and IscB function as RNA-guided DNA endonucleases5,6, but the broader biological role of this activity has remained enigmatic. Here we show that TnpB and IscB are essential to prevent permanent transposon loss as a consequence of the TnpA transposition mechanism. We selected a family of related insertion sequences from Geobacillus stearothermophilus that encode several TnpB and IscB orthologues, and showed that a single TnpA transposase was broadly active for transposon mobilization. The donor joints formed upon religation of transposon-flanking sequences were efficiently targeted for cleavage by RNA-guided TnpB and IscB nucleases, and co-expression of TnpB and TnpA led to substantially greater transposon retention relative to conditions in which TnpA was expressed alone. Notably, TnpA and TnpB also stimulated recombination frequencies, surpassing rates observed with TnpB alone. Collectively, this study reveals that RNA-guided DNA cleavage arose as a primal biochemical activity to bias the selfish inheritance and spread of transposable elements, which was later co-opted during the evolution of CRISPR-Cas adaptive immunity for antiviral defence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chance Meers
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Hoang C Le
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sanjana R Pesari
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Program, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Florian T Hoffmann
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Matt W G Walker
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jeanine Gezelle
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Stephen Tang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Samuel H Sternberg
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Luqman-Fatah A, Miyoshi T. Human LINE-1 retrotransposons: impacts on the genome and regulation by host factors. Genes Genet Syst 2023; 98:121-154. [PMID: 36436935 DOI: 10.1266/ggs.22-00038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Genome sequencing revealed that nearly half of the human genome is comprised of transposable elements. Although most of these elements have been rendered inactive due to mutations, full-length intact long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1 or L1) copies retain the ability to mobilize through RNA intermediates by a so-called "copy-and-paste" mechanism, termed retrotransposition. L1 is the only known autonomous mobile genetic element in the genome, and its retrotransposition contributes to inter- or intra-individual genetic variation within the human population. However, L1 retrotransposition also poses a threat to genome integrity due to gene disruption and chromosomal instability. Moreover, recent studies suggest that aberrant L1 expression can impact human health by causing diseases such as cancer and chronic inflammation that might lead to autoimmune disorders. To counteract these adverse effects, the host cells have evolved multiple layers of defense mechanisms at the epigenetic, RNA and protein levels. Intriguingly, several host factors have also been reported to facilitate L1 retrotransposition, suggesting that there is competition between negative and positive regulation of L1 by host factors. Here, we summarize the known host proteins that regulate L1 activity at different stages of the replication cycle and discuss how these factors modulate disease-associated phenotypes caused by L1.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad Luqman-Fatah
- Department of Gene Mechanisms, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University
- Department of Stress Response, Radiation Biology Center, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University
| | - Tomoichiro Miyoshi
- Department of Gene Mechanisms, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University
- Department of Stress Response, Radiation Biology Center, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Jeong DE, Sundrani S, Hall RN, Krupovic M, Koonin EV, Fire AZ. DNA polymerase diversity reveals multiple incursions of Polintons during nematode evolution. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.22.554363. [PMID: 37662302 PMCID: PMC10473752 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.22.554363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
Polintons are dsDNA, virus-like self-synthesizing transposons widely found in eukaryotic genomes. Recent metagenomic discoveries of Polinton-like viruses are consistent with the hypothesis that Polintons invade eukaryotic host genomes through infectious viral particles. Nematode genomes contain multiple copies of Polintons and provide an opportunity to explore the natural distribution and evolution of Polintons during this process. We performed an extensive search of Polintons across nematode genomes, identifying multiple full-length Polinton copies in several species. We provide evidence of both ancient Polinton integrations and recent mobility in strains of the same nematode species. In addition to the major nematode Polinton family, we identified a group of Polintons that are overall closely related to the major family, but encode a distinct protein-primed B family DNA polymerase (pPolB) that is related to homologs from a different group of Polintons present outside of the Nematoda . Phylogenetic analyses on the pPolBs support the evolutionary scenarios in which these extrinsic pPolBs that seem to derive from Polinton families present in oomycetes and molluscs replaced the canonical pPolB in subsets of Polintons found in terrestrial and marine nematodes, respectively, suggesting inter-phylum horizontal gene transfers. The pPolBs of the terrestrial nematode and oomycete Polintons share a unique feature, an insertion of a HNH nuclease domain, whereas the pPolBs in the marine nematode Polintons share an insertion of a VSR nuclease domain with marine mollusc pPolBs. We hypothesize that horizontal gene transfer occurs among Polintons from widely different but cohabiting hosts.
Collapse
|
47
|
Chakrabarty P, Sen R, Sengupta S. From parasites to partners: exploring the intricacies of host-transposon dynamics and coevolution. Funct Integr Genomics 2023; 23:278. [PMID: 37610667 DOI: 10.1007/s10142-023-01206-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
Transposable elements, often referred to as "jumping genes," have long been recognized as genomic parasites due to their ability to integrate and disrupt normal gene function and induce extensive genomic alterations, thereby compromising the host's fitness. To counteract this, the host has evolved a plethora of mechanisms to suppress the activity of the transposons. Recent research has unveiled the host-transposon relationships to be nuanced and complex phenomena, resulting in the coevolution of both entities. Transposition increases the mutational rate in the host genome, often triggering physiological pathways such as immune and stress responses. Current gene transfer technologies utilizing transposable elements have potential drawbacks, including off-target integration, induction of mutations, and modifications of cellular machinery, which makes an in-depth understanding of the host-transposon relationship imperative. This review highlights the dynamic interplay between the host and transposable elements, encompassing various factors and components of the cellular machinery. We provide a comprehensive discussion of the strategies employed by transposable elements for their propagation, as well as the mechanisms utilized by the host to mitigate their parasitic effects. Additionally, we present an overview of recent research identifying host proteins that act as facilitators or inhibitors of transposition. We further discuss the evolutionary outcomes resulting from the genetic interactions between the host and the transposable elements. Finally, we pose open questions in this field and suggest potential avenues for future research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Prayas Chakrabarty
- Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University Kolkata, 86/1 College Street, Kolkata, 700073, India
| | - Raneet Sen
- Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University Kolkata, 86/1 College Street, Kolkata, 700073, India
- Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Department of RNA Metabolism, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznan, Poland
| | - Sugopa Sengupta
- Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University Kolkata, 86/1 College Street, Kolkata, 700073, India.
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Herrick J. Kimura's Theory of Non-Adaptive Radiation and Peto's Paradox: A Missing Link? BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1140. [PMID: 37627024 PMCID: PMC10452704 DOI: 10.3390/biology12081140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Karyotype diversity reflects genome integrity and stability. A strong correlation between karyotype diversity and species richness, meaning the number of species in a phylogenetic clade, was first reported in mammals over forty years ago: in mammalian phylogenetic clades, the standard deviation of karyotype diversity (KD) closely corresponded to species richness (SR) at the order level. These initial studies, however, did not control for phylogenetic signal, raising the possibility that the correlation was due to phylogenetic relatedness among species in a clade. Accordingly, karyotype diversity trivially reflects species richness simply as a passive consequence of adaptive radiation. A more recent study in mammals controlled for phylogenetic signals and established the correlation as phylogenetically independent, suggesting that species richness cannot, in itself, explain the observed corresponding karyotype diversity. The correlation is, therefore, remarkable because the molecular mechanisms contributing to karyotype diversity are evolutionarily independent of the ecological mechanisms contributing to species richness. Recently, it was shown in salamanders that the two processes generating genome size diversity and species richness were indeed independent and operate in parallel, suggesting a potential non-adaptive, non-causal but biologically meaningful relationship. KD depends on mutational input generating genetic diversity and reflects genome stability, whereas species richness depends on ecological factors and reflects natural selection acting on phenotypic diversity. As mutation and selection operate independently and involve separate and unrelated evolutionary mechanisms-there is no reason a priori to expect such a strong, let alone any, correlation between KD and SR. That such a correlation exists is more consistent with Kimura's theory of non-adaptive radiation than with ecologically based adaptive theories of macro-evolution, which are not excluded in Kimura's non-adaptive theory. The following reviews recent evidence in support of Kimura's proposal, and other findings that contribute to a wider understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the process of non-adaptive radiation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- John Herrick
- Independent Researcher, 3, rue des Jeûneurs, 75002 Paris, France
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Lannes L, Furman CM, Hickman AB, Dyda F. Zinc-finger BED domains drive the formation of the active Hermes transpososome by asymmetric DNA binding. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4470. [PMID: 37491363 PMCID: PMC10368747 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40210-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The Hermes DNA transposon is a member of the eukaryotic hAT superfamily, and its transposase forms a ring-shaped tetramer of dimers. Our investigation, combining biochemical, crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy, and in-cell assays, shows that the full-length Hermes octamer extensively interacts with its transposon left-end through multiple BED domains of three Hermes protomers contributed by three dimers explaining the role of the unusual higher-order assembly. By contrast, the right-end is bound to no BED domains at all. Thus, this work supports a model in which Hermes multimerizes to gather enough BED domains to find its left-end among the abundant genomic DNA, facilitating the subsequent interaction with the right-end.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laurie Lannes
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Christopher M Furman
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Alison B Hickman
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Fred Dyda
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Puzakov MV, Puzakova LV, Shi S, Cheresiz SV. maT and mosquito transposons in cnidarians: evolutionary history and intraspecific differences. Funct Integr Genomics 2023; 23:244. [PMID: 37454326 DOI: 10.1007/s10142-023-01175-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Transposable elements exert a significant effect on the size and structure of eukaryotic genomes. Tc1/mariner superfamily elements represent the widely distributed and highly variable group of DNA transposons. Tc1/mariner elements include TLE/DD34-38E, MLE/DD34D, maT/DD37D, Visitor/DD41D, Guest/DD39D, mosquito/DD37E, and L18/DD37E families, all of which are well or less scarcely studied. However, more detailed research into the patterns of prevalence and diversity of Tc1/mariner transposons enables one to better understand the coevolution of the TEs and the eukaryotic genomes. We performed a detailed analysis of the maT/DD37D family in Cnidaria. The study of 77 genomic assemblies demonstrated that maT transposons are found in a limited number of cnidarian species belonging to classes Cubozoa (1 species), Hydrozoa (3 species) и Scyphozoa (5 species) only. The identified TEs were classified into 5 clades, with the representatives from Pelagiidae (class Scyphozoa) forming a separate clade of maT transposons, which has never been described previously. The potentially functional copies of maT transposons were identified in the hydrae. The phylogenetic analysis and the studies of distribution among the taxons and the evolutionary dynamics of the elements suggest that maT transposons of the cnidarians are the descendants of several independent invasion events occurring at different periods of time. We also established that the TEs of mosquito/DD37E family are found in Hydridae (class Hydrozoa) only. A comparison of maT and mosquito prevalence in two genomic assemblies of Hydra viridissima revealed obvious differences, thus demonstrating that each individual organism might carry a unique mobilome pattern. The results of the presented research make us better understand the diversity and evolution of Tc1/mariner transposons and their effect on the eukaryotic genomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mikhail V Puzakov
- A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS, Lenninsky Eve., 38, Moscow, Russia, 119991.
| | - Lyudmila V Puzakova
- A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS, Lenninsky Eve., 38, Moscow, Russia, 119991
| | - Shasha Shi
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China
| | - Sergey V Cheresiz
- V. Zelman Institute for Medicine and Psychology, Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova st., 1, Novosibirsk, Russia, 630090
- State Scientific Research Institute of Physiology and Basic Medicine, P.O. Box 237, Novosibirsk, Russia, 630117
| |
Collapse
|