Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX.
Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA.
Mol Biol Evol. 2023 May 2;40(5). doi: 10.1093/molbev/msad092.
Horizontal transfer of transposable elements (TEs) is an important mechanism contributing to genetic diversity and innovation. Bats (order Chiroptera) have repeatedly been shown to experience horizontal transfer of TEs at what appears to be a high rate compared with other mammals. We investigated the occurrence of horizontally transferred (HT) DNA transposons involving bats. We found over 200 putative HT elements within bats; 16 transposons were shared across distantly related mammalian clades, and 2 other elements were shared with a fish and two lizard species. Our results indicate that bats are a hotspot for horizontal transfer of DNA transposons. These events broadly coincide with the diversification of several bat clades, supporting the hypothesis that DNA transposon invasions have contributed to genetic diversification of bats.
转座元件（TEs）的水平转移是导致遗传多样性和创新的重要机制。与其他哺乳动物相比，蝙蝠（翼手目）被多次证明经历了TEs 的水平转移，其转移率似乎很高。我们调查了涉及蝙蝠的水平转移（HT）DNA 转座子的发生情况。我们在蝙蝠中发现了 200 多个推定的 HT 元件；16 个转座子在远缘哺乳动物类群中共享，另外 2 个元件与一种鱼类和两种蜥蜴物种共享。我们的研究结果表明，蝙蝠是 DNA 转座子水平转移的热点。这些事件与几个蝙蝠类群的多样化大致吻合，支持了 DNA 转座子入侵促进了蝙蝠遗传多样化的假说。
