HGT is widespread in insects and contributes to male courtship in lepidopterans.
Cell
; 185(16): 2975-2987.e10, 2022 08 04.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35853453
ABSTRACT
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is an important evolutionary force shaping prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes. HGT-acquired genes have been sporadically reported in insects, a lineage containing >50% of animals. We systematically examined HGT in 218 high-quality genomes of diverse insects and found that they acquired 1,410 genes exhibiting diverse functions, including many not previously reported, via 741 distinct transfers from non-metazoan donors. Lepidopterans had the highest average number of HGT-acquired genes. HGT-acquired genes containing introns exhibited substantially higher expression levels than genes lacking introns, suggesting that intron gains were likely involved in HGT adaptation. Lastly, we used the CRISPR-Cas9 system to edit the prevalent unreported gene LOC105383139, which was transferred into the last common ancestor of moths and butterflies. In diamondback moths, males lacking LOC105383139 courted females significantly less. We conclude that HGT has been a major contributor to insect adaptation.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Butterflies
/
Gene Transfer, Horizontal
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Cell
Year:
2022
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
China