Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria.
Vienna BioCenter PhD Program, Doctoral School of the University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna, A-1030 Vienna, Austria.
Science. 2023 Jun 30;380(6652):eade0705. doi: 10.1126/science.ade0705.
Horizontal gene transfer, the movement of genetic material between species, has been reported across all major eukaryotic lineages. However, the underlying mechanisms of transfer and their impact on genome evolution are still poorly understood. While studying the evolutionary origin of a selfish element in the nematode , we discovered that , ancient virus-like transposons related to giant viruses and virophages, are one of the long-sought vectors of horizontal gene transfer. We found that gained a novel herpesvirus-like fusogen in nematodes, leading to the widespread exchange of cargo genes between extremely divergent species, bypassing sexual and genetic barriers spanning hundreds of millions of years. Our results show how the union between viruses and transposons causes horizontal gene transfer and ultimately genetic incompatibilities in natural populations.
水平基因转移，即遗传物质在物种间的移动，已在所有主要的真核生物谱系中被报道。然而，转移的潜在机制及其对基因组进化的影响仍知之甚少。在研究线虫中自私元件的进化起源时，我们发现，与巨型病毒和噬病毒相关的古老病毒样转座子是长期以来寻求的水平基因转移载体之一。我们发现，线虫获得了一种新型疱疹病毒样融合蛋白，导致货物基因在极度不同的物种之间广泛交换，绕过了跨越数亿年的性和遗传障碍。我们的研究结果表明，病毒和转座子的结合如何导致水平基因转移，并最终导致自然种群中的遗传不相容性。
