Genomes of historical specimens reveal multiple invasions of LTR retrotransposons in Drosophila melanogaster during the 19th century

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Scarpa, Almoro; Pianezza, Riccardo; Wierzbicki, Filip; Kofler, Robert
• 署名单位: University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-8641
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2313866121
• 发表日期: 2024-04-09
• 关键词: hobo transposable elements; horizontal transfer; hybrid dysgenesis; populations; EVOLUTION; sequence; diversity; alignment; IMPACT; locus

摘要

Transposable element invasions have a profound impact on the evolution of genomes and phenotypes. It is thus an important open question how often such TE invasions occur. To address this question, we utilize the genomes of historical specimens, sampled about 200 y ago. We found that the LTR retrotransposons Blood, Opus, and 412spread in Drosophila melanogaster in the 19th century. These invasions constitute second waves, as degraded fragments were found for all three TEs. The composition of Opus and 412, but not of Blood, shows a pronounced geographic heterogeneity, likely due to founder effects during the invasions. Finally, we identified species from the Drosophila simulans complex as the likely origin of the TEs. We show that in total, seven TE families invaded D. melanogaster during the last 200 y, there by increasing the genome size by up to 1.2 Mbp. We suggest that this high rate of TE invasions was likely triggered by human activity. Based on the analysis of strains and specimens sampled at different times, we provide a detailed timeline of TE invasions, making D. melanogaster the first organism where the invasion history of TEs during the last two centuries could be inferred.