Horizontal Transfer of Bacterial Cytolethal Distending Toxin B Genes to Insects.
Mol Biol Evol
; 36(10): 2105-2110, 2019 10 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31236589
ABSTRACT
Horizontal gene transfer events have played a major role in the evolution of microbial species, but their importance in animals is less clear. Here, we report horizontal gene transfer of cytolethal distending toxin B (cdtB), prokaryotic genes encoding eukaryote-targeting DNase I toxins, into the genomes of vinegar flies (Diptera Drosophilidae) and aphids (Hemiptera Aphididae). We found insect-encoded cdtB genes are most closely related to orthologs from bacteriophage that infect Candidatus Hamiltonella defensa, a bacterial mutualistic symbiont of aphids that confers resistance to parasitoid wasps. In drosophilids, cdtB orthologs are highly expressed during the parasitoid-prone larval stage and encode a protein with ancestral DNase activity. We show that cdtB has been domesticated by diverse insects and hypothesize that it functions in defense against their natural enemies.
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Texto completo:
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Afídeos
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Toxinas Bacterianas
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Transferência Genética Horizontal
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Drosophila
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article