maT and mosquito transposons in cnidarians: evolutionary history and intraspecific differences

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.

Keywords: Cnidaria; DNA transposons; Genome evolution; Tc1/mariner; maT; mosquito.