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Shen D, Song C, Miskey C, Chan S, Guan Z, Sang Y, Wang Y, Chen C, Wang X, Müller F, Ivics Z, Gao B. A native, highly active Tc1/mariner transposon from zebrafish (ZB) offers an efficient genetic manipulation tool for vertebrates. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:2126-2140. [PMID: 33638993 PMCID: PMC7913693 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
New genetic tools and strategies are currently under development to facilitate functional genomics analyses. Here, we describe an active member of the Tc1/mariner transposon superfamily, named ZB, which invaded the zebrafish genome very recently. ZB exhibits high activity in vertebrate cells, in the range of those of the widely used transposons piggyBac (PB), Sleeping Beauty (SB) and Tol2. ZB has a similar structural organization and target site sequence preference to SB, but a different integration profile with respect to genome-wide preference among mammalian functional annotation features. Namely, ZB displays a preference for integration into transcriptional regulatory regions of genes. Accordingly, we demonstrate the utility of ZB for enhancer trapping in zebrafish embryos and in the mouse germline. These results indicate that ZB may be a powerful tool for genetic manipulation in vertebrate model species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Shen
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China
- Division of Medical Biotechnology, Paul Ehrlich Institute, Langen 63225, Germany
| | - Chengyi Song
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China
| | - Csaba Miskey
- Division of Medical Biotechnology, Paul Ehrlich Institute, Langen 63225, Germany
| | - Shuheng Chan
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China
| | - Zhongxia Guan
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China
| | - Yatong Sang
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China
| | - Yali Wang
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China
| | - Cai Chen
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China
| | - Xiaoyan Wang
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China
| | - Ferenc Müller
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, Birmingham Centre for Genome Biology, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Zoltán Ivics
- Division of Medical Biotechnology, Paul Ehrlich Institute, Langen 63225, Germany
| | - Bo Gao
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China
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Gao B, Zong W, Miskey C, Ullah N, Diaby M, Chen C, Wang X, Ivics Z, Song C. Intruder (DD38E), a recently evolved sibling family of DD34E/Tc1 transposons in animals. Mob DNA 2020; 11:32. [PMID: 33303022 PMCID: PMC7731502 DOI: 10.1186/s13100-020-00227-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A family of Tc1/mariner transposons with a characteristic DD38E triad of catalytic amino acid residues, named Intruder (IT), was previously discovered in sturgeon genomes, but their evolutionary landscapes remain largely unknown. RESULTS Here, we comprehensively investigated the evolutionary profiles of ITs, and evaluated their cut-and-paste activities in cells. ITs exhibited a narrow taxonomic distribution pattern in the animal kingdom, with invasions into two invertebrate phyla (Arthropoda and Cnidaria) and three vertebrate lineages (Actinopterygii, Agnatha, and Anura): very similar to that of the DD36E/IC family. Some animal orders and species seem to be more hospitable to Tc1/mariner transposons, one order of Amphibia and seven Actinopterygian orders are the most common orders with horizontal transfer events and have been invaded by all four families (DD38E/IT, DD35E/TR, DD36E/IC and DD37E/TRT) of Tc1/mariner transposons, and eight Actinopterygii species were identified as the major hosts of these families. Intact ITs have a total length of 1.5-1.7 kb containing a transposase gene flanked by terminal inverted repeats (TIRs). The phylogenetic tree and sequence identity showed that IT transposases were most closely related to DD34E/Tc1. ITs have been involved in multiple events of horizontal transfer in vertebrates and have invaded most lineages recently (< 5 million years ago) based on insertion age analysis. Accordingly, ITs presented high average sequence identity (86-95%) across most vertebrate species, suggesting that some are putatively active. ITs can transpose in human HeLa cells, and the transposition efficiency of consensus TIRs was higher than that of the TIRs of natural isolates. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that DD38E/IT originated from DD34E/Tc1 and can be detected in two invertebrate phyla (Arthropoda and Cnidaria), and in three vertebrate lineages (Actinopterygii, Agnatha and Anura). IT has experienced multiple HT events in animals, dominated by recent amplifications in most species and has high identity among vertebrate taxa. Our reconstructed IT transposon vector designed according to the sequence from the "cat" genome showed high cut-and-paste activity. The data suggest that IT has been acquired recently and is active in many species. This study is meaningful for understanding the evolution of the Tc1/mariner superfamily members and their hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Gao
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, 48 Wenhui East Road, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China.,Division of Medical Biotechnology, Paul Ehrlich Institute, 63225, Langen, Germany
| | - Wencheng Zong
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, 48 Wenhui East Road, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China
| | - Csaba Miskey
- Division of Medical Biotechnology, Paul Ehrlich Institute, 63225, Langen, Germany
| | - Numan Ullah
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, 48 Wenhui East Road, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China
| | - Mohamed Diaby
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, 48 Wenhui East Road, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China
| | - Cai Chen
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, 48 Wenhui East Road, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xiaoyan Wang
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, 48 Wenhui East Road, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China
| | - Zoltán Ivics
- Division of Medical Biotechnology, Paul Ehrlich Institute, 63225, Langen, Germany
| | - Chengyi Song
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, 48 Wenhui East Road, Yangzhou, 225009, Jiangsu, China.
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Carducci F, Barucca M, Canapa A, Carotti E, Biscotti MA. Mobile Elements in Ray-Finned Fish Genomes. Life (Basel) 2020; 10:E221. [PMID: 32992841 PMCID: PMC7599744 DOI: 10.3390/life10100221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Revised: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) are a very diverse group of vertebrates, encompassing species adapted to live in freshwater and marine environments, from the deep sea to high mountain streams. Genome sequencing offers a genetic resource for investigating the molecular bases of this phenotypic diversity and these adaptations to various habitats. The wide range of genome sizes observed in fishes is due to the role of transposable elements (TEs), which are powerful drivers of species diversity. Analyses performed to date provide evidence that class II DNA transposons are the most abundant component in most fish genomes and that compared to other vertebrate genomes, many TE superfamilies are present in actinopterygians. Moreover, specific TEs have been reported in ray-finned fishes as a possible result of an intricate relationship between TE evolution and the environment. The data summarized here underline the biological interest in Actinopterygii as a model group to investigate the mechanisms responsible for the high biodiversity observed in this taxon.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Maria Assunta Biscotti
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell’Ambiente, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy; (F.C.); (M.B.); (A.C.); (E.C.)
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Sang Y, Gao B, Diaby M, Zong W, Chen C, Shen D, Wang S, Wang Y, Ivics Z, Song C. Incomer, a DD36E family of Tc1/mariner transposons newly discovered in animals. Mob DNA 2019; 10:45. [PMID: 31788035 PMCID: PMC6875036 DOI: 10.1186/s13100-019-0188-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 11/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Tc1/mariner superfamily might represent the most diverse and widely distributed group of DNA transposons. Several families have been identified; however, exploring the diversity of this superfamily and updating its classification is still ongoing in the life sciences. RESULTS Here we identified a new family of Tc1/mariner transposons, named Incomer (IC), which is close to, but distinct from the known family DD34E/Tc1. ICs have a total length of about 1.2 kb, and harbor a single open reading frame encoding a ~ 346 amino acid transposase with a DD36E motif and flanked by short terminal inverted repeats (TIRs) (22-32 base pairs, bp). This family is absent from prokaryotes, and is mainly distributed among vertebrates (141 species of four classes), including Agnatha (one species of jawless fish), Actinopterygii (132 species of ray-finned fish), Amphibia (four species of frogs), and Mammalia (four species of bats), but have a restricted distribution in invertebrates (four species in Insecta and nine in Arachnida). All ICs in bats (Myotis lucifugus, Eptesicus fuscus, Myotis davidii, and Myotis brandtii) are present as truncated copies in these genomes, and most of them are flanked by relatively long TIRs (51-126 bp). High copy numbers of miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs) derived from ICs were also identified in bat genomes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that ICs are more closely related to DD34E/Tc1 than to other families of Tc1/mariner (e.g., DD34D/mariner and DD × D/pogo), and can be classified into four distinct clusters. The host and IC phylogenies and pairwise distance comparisons between RAG1 genes and all consensus sequences of ICs support the idea that multiple episodes of horizontal transfer (HT) of ICs have occurred in vertebrates. In addition, the discovery of intact transposases, perfect TIRs and target site duplications of ICs suggests that this family may still be active in Insecta, Arachnida, frogs, and fish. CONCLUSIONS Exploring the diversity of Tc1/mariner transposons and revealing their evolutionary profiles will help provide a better understanding of the evolution of DNA transposons and their impact on genomic evolution. Here, a newly discovered family (DD36E/Incomer) of Tc1/mariner transposons is described in animals. It displays a similar structural organization and close relationship with the known DD34E/Tc1 elements, but has a relatively narrow distribution, indicating that DD36E/IC might have originated from the DD34E/Tc1 family. Our data also support the hypothesis of horizontal transfer of IC in vertebrates, even invading one lineage of mammals (bats). This study expands our understanding of the diversity of Tc1/mariner transposons and updates the classification of this superfamily.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yatong Sang
- Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009 Jiangsu China
| | - Bo Gao
- Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009 Jiangsu China
- Division of Medical Biotechnology, Paul Ehrlich Institute, 63225 Langen, Germany
| | - Mohamed Diaby
- Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009 Jiangsu China
| | - Wencheng Zong
- Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009 Jiangsu China
| | - Cai Chen
- Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009 Jiangsu China
| | - Dan Shen
- Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009 Jiangsu China
| | - Saisai Wang
- Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009 Jiangsu China
| | - Yali Wang
- Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009 Jiangsu China
| | - Zoltán Ivics
- Division of Medical Biotechnology, Paul Ehrlich Institute, 63225 Langen, Germany
| | - Chengyi Song
- Institute of Animal Mobilome and Genome, College of Animal Science & Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009 Jiangsu China
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Jiang XY, Hou F, Shen XD, Du XD, Xu HL, Zou SM. The N-terminal zinc finger domain of Tgf2 transposase contributes to DNA binding and to transposition activity. Sci Rep 2016; 6:27101. [PMID: 27251101 PMCID: PMC4890040 DOI: 10.1038/srep27101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2016] [Accepted: 05/13/2016] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Active Hobo/Activator/Tam3 (hAT) transposable elements are rarely found in vertebrates. Previously, goldfish Tgf2 was found to be an autonomously active vertebrate transposon that is efficient at gene-transfer in teleost fish. However, little is known about Tgf2 functional domains required for transposition. To explore this, we first predicted in silico a zinc finger domain in the N-terminus of full length Tgf2 transposase (L-Tgf2TPase). Two truncated recombinant Tgf2 transposases with deletions in the N-terminal zinc finger domain, S1- and S2-Tgf2TPase, were expressed in bacteria from goldfish cDNAs. Both truncated Tgf2TPases lost their DNA-binding ability in vitro, specifically at the ends of Tgf2 transposon than native L-Tgf2TPase. Consequently, S1- and S2-Tgf2TPases mediated gene transfer in the zebrafish genome in vivo at a significantly (p < 0.01) lower efficiency (21%–25%), in comparison with L-Tgf2TPase (56% efficiency). Compared to L-Tgf2TPase, truncated Tgf2TPases catalyzed imprecise excisions with partial deletion of TE ends and/or plasmid backbone insertion/deletion. The gene integration into the zebrafish genome mediated by truncated Tgf2TPases was imperfect, creating incomplete 8-bp target site duplications at the insertion sites. These results indicate that the zinc finger domain in Tgf2 transposase is involved in binding to Tgf2 terminal sequences, and loss of those domains has effects on TE transposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xia-Yun Jiang
- College of Food Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Huchenghuan Road 999, Shanghai 201306, China.,Key Laboratory of Freshwater Aquatic Genetic Resources, Shanghai Ocean University, Huchenghuan Road 999, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Fei Hou
- College of Food Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Huchenghuan Road 999, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Xiao-Dan Shen
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Aquatic Genetic Resources, Shanghai Ocean University, Huchenghuan Road 999, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Xue-Di Du
- College of animal science and technology, Yangzhou University, Wenhui Road 48, Yangzhou 225009, China
| | - Hai-Li Xu
- College of Food Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Huchenghuan Road 999, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Shu-Ming Zou
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Aquatic Genetic Resources, Shanghai Ocean University, Huchenghuan Road 999, Shanghai 201306, China
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