Extensive exchange of transposable elements in the Drosophila pseudoobscura group


Hill, Tom and Betancourt, Andrea J ORCID: 0000-0001-9351-1413 (2018) Extensive exchange of transposable elements in the Drosophila pseudoobscura group MOBILE DNA, 9 (1). 20-. ISSN 1759-8753, 1759-8753

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Abstract

<h4>Background</h4>As species diverge, so does their transposable element (TE) content. Within a genome, TE families may eventually become dormant due to host-silencing mechanisms, natural selection and the accumulation of inactive copies. The transmission of active copies from a TE families, both vertically and horizontally between species, can allow TEs to escape inactivation if it occurs often enough, as it may allow TEs to temporarily escape silencing in a new host. Thus, the contribution of horizontal exchange to TE persistence has been of increasing interest.<h4>Results</h4>Here, we annotated TEs in five species with sequenced genomes from the D. pseudoobscura species group, and curated a set of TE families found in these species. We found that, compared to host genes, many TE families showed lower neutral divergence between species, consistent with recent transmission of TEs between species. Despite these transfers, there are differences in the TE content between species in the group.<h4>Conclusions</h4>The TE content is highly dynamic in the D. pseudoobscura species group, frequently transferring between species, keeping TEs active. This result highlights how frequently transposable elements are transmitted between sympatric species and, despite these transfers, how rapidly species TE content can diverge.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: 31 Biological Sciences, 3105 Genetics, Genetics, Human Genome, Generic health relevance
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 16 Jul 2018 09:31
Last Modified: 02 Jan 2026 09:03
DOI: 10.1186/s13100-018-0123-6
Open Access URL: https://mobilednajournal.biomedcentral.com/article...
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URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3023748
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