Double trouble: two retrotransposons triggered a cascade of invasions in Drosophila species within the last 50 years
Abstract Horizontal transfer of genetic material in eukaryotes has rarely been documented over short evolutionary timescales. Here, we show that two retrotransposons, Shellder and Spoink, invaded the genomes of multiple species of the melanogaster subgroup within the last 50 years. Through horizonta...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55779-6 |
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| author | Almorò Scarpa Riccardo Pianezza Hannah R. Gellert Anna Haider Bernard Y. Kim Eric C. Lai Robert Kofler Sarah Signor |
| author_facet | Almorò Scarpa Riccardo Pianezza Hannah R. Gellert Anna Haider Bernard Y. Kim Eric C. Lai Robert Kofler Sarah Signor |
| author_sort | Almorò Scarpa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Horizontal transfer of genetic material in eukaryotes has rarely been documented over short evolutionary timescales. Here, we show that two retrotransposons, Shellder and Spoink, invaded the genomes of multiple species of the melanogaster subgroup within the last 50 years. Through horizontal transfer, Spoink spread in D. melanogaster during the 1980s, while both Shellder and Spoink invaded D. simulans in the 1990s. Possibly following hybridization, D. simulans infected the island endemic species D. mauritiana (Mauritius) and D. sechellia (Seychelles) with both TEs after 1995. In the same approximate time-frame, Shellder also invaded D. teissieri, a species confined to sub-Saharan Africa. We find that the donors of Shellder and Spoink are likely American Drosophila species from the willistoni, cardini, and repleta groups. Thus, the described cascade of TE invasions could only become feasible after D. melanogaster and D. simulans extended their distributions into the Americas 200 years ago, likely aided by human activity. Our work reveals that cascades of TE invasions, likely initiated by human-mediated range expansions, could have an impact on the genomic and phenotypic evolution of geographically dispersed species. Within a few decades, TEs could invade many species, including island endemics, with distributions very distant from the donor of the TE. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-538d8fe529954be1a626623afd217fe7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| spelling | doaj-art-538d8fe529954be1a626623afd217fe72025-01-12T12:30:16ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111610.1038/s41467-024-55779-6Double trouble: two retrotransposons triggered a cascade of invasions in Drosophila species within the last 50 yearsAlmorò Scarpa0Riccardo Pianezza1Hannah R. Gellert2Anna Haider3Bernard Y. Kim4Eric C. Lai5Robert Kofler6Sarah Signor7Institut für Populationsgenetik, Vetmeduni ViennaInstitut für Populationsgenetik, Vetmeduni ViennaDepartment of Biology, Stanford UniversityInstitut für Populationsgenetik, Vetmeduni ViennaDepartment of Biology, Stanford UniversityDevelopmental Biology Program, Sloan-Kettering InstituteInstitut für Populationsgenetik, Vetmeduni ViennaBiological Sciences, North Dakota State UniversityAbstract Horizontal transfer of genetic material in eukaryotes has rarely been documented over short evolutionary timescales. Here, we show that two retrotransposons, Shellder and Spoink, invaded the genomes of multiple species of the melanogaster subgroup within the last 50 years. Through horizontal transfer, Spoink spread in D. melanogaster during the 1980s, while both Shellder and Spoink invaded D. simulans in the 1990s. Possibly following hybridization, D. simulans infected the island endemic species D. mauritiana (Mauritius) and D. sechellia (Seychelles) with both TEs after 1995. In the same approximate time-frame, Shellder also invaded D. teissieri, a species confined to sub-Saharan Africa. We find that the donors of Shellder and Spoink are likely American Drosophila species from the willistoni, cardini, and repleta groups. Thus, the described cascade of TE invasions could only become feasible after D. melanogaster and D. simulans extended their distributions into the Americas 200 years ago, likely aided by human activity. Our work reveals that cascades of TE invasions, likely initiated by human-mediated range expansions, could have an impact on the genomic and phenotypic evolution of geographically dispersed species. Within a few decades, TEs could invade many species, including island endemics, with distributions very distant from the donor of the TE.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55779-6 |
| spellingShingle | Almorò Scarpa Riccardo Pianezza Hannah R. Gellert Anna Haider Bernard Y. Kim Eric C. Lai Robert Kofler Sarah Signor Double trouble: two retrotransposons triggered a cascade of invasions in Drosophila species within the last 50 years Nature Communications |
| title | Double trouble: two retrotransposons triggered a cascade of invasions in Drosophila species within the last 50 years |
| title_full | Double trouble: two retrotransposons triggered a cascade of invasions in Drosophila species within the last 50 years |
| title_fullStr | Double trouble: two retrotransposons triggered a cascade of invasions in Drosophila species within the last 50 years |
| title_full_unstemmed | Double trouble: two retrotransposons triggered a cascade of invasions in Drosophila species within the last 50 years |
| title_short | Double trouble: two retrotransposons triggered a cascade of invasions in Drosophila species within the last 50 years |
| title_sort | double trouble two retrotransposons triggered a cascade of invasions in drosophila species within the last 50 years |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55779-6 |
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