The protist <it>Trichomonas vaginalis </it>harbors multiple lineages of transcriptionally active <it>Mutator</it>-like elements
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>For three decades the <it>Mutator </it>system was thought to be exclusive of plants, until the first homolog representatives were characterized in fungi and in early-diverging amoebas earlier in this decade.</p> <...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2009-07-01
|
| Series: | BMC Genomics |
| Online Access: | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/10/330 |
| _version_ | 1818525817884377088 |
|---|---|
| author | Pereira Gonçalo AG Costa Gustavo GL Benchimol Marlene Silva Joana C Lopes Fabrício R Carareto Claudia MA |
| author_facet | Pereira Gonçalo AG Costa Gustavo GL Benchimol Marlene Silva Joana C Lopes Fabrício R Carareto Claudia MA |
| author_sort | Pereira Gonçalo AG |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>For three decades the <it>Mutator </it>system was thought to be exclusive of plants, until the first homolog representatives were characterized in fungi and in early-diverging amoebas earlier in this decade.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here, we describe and characterize four families of <it>Mutator</it>-like elements in a new eukaryotic group, the Parabasalids. These <b><it>T</it></b><it>richomonas </it><b><it>v</it></b><it>aginalis </it><it><b>Mu</b>tator- <b>l</b>ike </it><it><b>e</b>lements</it>, or <it>TvMULEs</it>, are active in <it>T. vaginalis </it>and patchily distributed among 12 trichomonad species and isolates. Despite their relatively distinctive amino acid composition, the inclusion of the repeats <it>TvMULE1</it>, <it>TvMULE2</it>, <it>TvMULE3 </it>and <it>TvMULE4 </it>into the <it>Mutator </it>superfamily is justified by sequence, structural and phylogenetic analyses. In addition, we identified three new <it>TvMULE</it>-related sequences in the genome sequence of <it>Candida albicans</it>. While <it>TvMULE1 </it>is a member of the <it>MuDR </it>clade, predominantly from plants, the other three <it>TvMULEs</it>, together with the <it>C. albicans </it>elements, represent a new and quite distinct <it>Mutator </it>lineage, which we named <it>TvCaMULEs</it>. The finding of <it>TvMULE1 </it>sequence inserted into other putative repeat suggests the occurrence a novel TE family not yet described.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings expand the taxonomic distribution and the range of functional motif of <it>MULEs </it>among eukaryotes. The characterization of the dynamics of <it>TvMULEs </it>and other transposons in this organism is of particular interest because it is atypical for an asexual species to have such an extreme level of TE activity; this genetic landscape makes an interesting case study for causes and consequences of such activity. Finally, the extreme repetitiveness of the <it>T. vaginalis </it>genome and the remarkable degree of sequence identity within its repeat families highlights this species as an ideal system to characterize new transposable elements.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T06:14:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1134e2225c254306a01dc2fd4566fa99 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2164 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T06:14:26Z |
| publishDate | 2009-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Genomics |
| spelling | doaj.art-1134e2225c254306a01dc2fd4566fa992022-12-22T01:18:01ZengBMCBMC Genomics1471-21642009-07-0110133010.1186/1471-2164-10-330The protist <it>Trichomonas vaginalis </it>harbors multiple lineages of transcriptionally active <it>Mutator</it>-like elementsPereira Gonçalo AGCosta Gustavo GLBenchimol MarleneSilva Joana CLopes Fabrício RCarareto Claudia MA<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>For three decades the <it>Mutator </it>system was thought to be exclusive of plants, until the first homolog representatives were characterized in fungi and in early-diverging amoebas earlier in this decade.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here, we describe and characterize four families of <it>Mutator</it>-like elements in a new eukaryotic group, the Parabasalids. These <b><it>T</it></b><it>richomonas </it><b><it>v</it></b><it>aginalis </it><it><b>Mu</b>tator- <b>l</b>ike </it><it><b>e</b>lements</it>, or <it>TvMULEs</it>, are active in <it>T. vaginalis </it>and patchily distributed among 12 trichomonad species and isolates. Despite their relatively distinctive amino acid composition, the inclusion of the repeats <it>TvMULE1</it>, <it>TvMULE2</it>, <it>TvMULE3 </it>and <it>TvMULE4 </it>into the <it>Mutator </it>superfamily is justified by sequence, structural and phylogenetic analyses. In addition, we identified three new <it>TvMULE</it>-related sequences in the genome sequence of <it>Candida albicans</it>. While <it>TvMULE1 </it>is a member of the <it>MuDR </it>clade, predominantly from plants, the other three <it>TvMULEs</it>, together with the <it>C. albicans </it>elements, represent a new and quite distinct <it>Mutator </it>lineage, which we named <it>TvCaMULEs</it>. The finding of <it>TvMULE1 </it>sequence inserted into other putative repeat suggests the occurrence a novel TE family not yet described.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings expand the taxonomic distribution and the range of functional motif of <it>MULEs </it>among eukaryotes. The characterization of the dynamics of <it>TvMULEs </it>and other transposons in this organism is of particular interest because it is atypical for an asexual species to have such an extreme level of TE activity; this genetic landscape makes an interesting case study for causes and consequences of such activity. Finally, the extreme repetitiveness of the <it>T. vaginalis </it>genome and the remarkable degree of sequence identity within its repeat families highlights this species as an ideal system to characterize new transposable elements.</p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/10/330 |
| spellingShingle | Pereira Gonçalo AG Costa Gustavo GL Benchimol Marlene Silva Joana C Lopes Fabrício R Carareto Claudia MA The protist <it>Trichomonas vaginalis </it>harbors multiple lineages of transcriptionally active <it>Mutator</it>-like elements BMC Genomics |
| title | The protist <it>Trichomonas vaginalis </it>harbors multiple lineages of transcriptionally active <it>Mutator</it>-like elements |
| title_full | The protist <it>Trichomonas vaginalis </it>harbors multiple lineages of transcriptionally active <it>Mutator</it>-like elements |
| title_fullStr | The protist <it>Trichomonas vaginalis </it>harbors multiple lineages of transcriptionally active <it>Mutator</it>-like elements |
| title_full_unstemmed | The protist <it>Trichomonas vaginalis </it>harbors multiple lineages of transcriptionally active <it>Mutator</it>-like elements |
| title_short | The protist <it>Trichomonas vaginalis </it>harbors multiple lineages of transcriptionally active <it>Mutator</it>-like elements |
| title_sort | protist it trichomonas vaginalis it harbors multiple lineages of transcriptionally active it mutator it like elements |
| url | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/10/330 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pereiragoncaloag theprotistittrichomonasvaginalisitharborsmultiplelineagesoftranscriptionallyactiveitmutatoritlikeelements AT costagustavogl theprotistittrichomonasvaginalisitharborsmultiplelineagesoftranscriptionallyactiveitmutatoritlikeelements AT benchimolmarlene theprotistittrichomonasvaginalisitharborsmultiplelineagesoftranscriptionallyactiveitmutatoritlikeelements AT silvajoanac theprotistittrichomonasvaginalisitharborsmultiplelineagesoftranscriptionallyactiveitmutatoritlikeelements AT lopesfabricior theprotistittrichomonasvaginalisitharborsmultiplelineagesoftranscriptionallyactiveitmutatoritlikeelements AT cararetoclaudiama theprotistittrichomonasvaginalisitharborsmultiplelineagesoftranscriptionallyactiveitmutatoritlikeelements AT pereiragoncaloag protistittrichomonasvaginalisitharborsmultiplelineagesoftranscriptionallyactiveitmutatoritlikeelements AT costagustavogl protistittrichomonasvaginalisitharborsmultiplelineagesoftranscriptionallyactiveitmutatoritlikeelements AT benchimolmarlene protistittrichomonasvaginalisitharborsmultiplelineagesoftranscriptionallyactiveitmutatoritlikeelements AT silvajoanac protistittrichomonasvaginalisitharborsmultiplelineagesoftranscriptionallyactiveitmutatoritlikeelements AT lopesfabricior protistittrichomonasvaginalisitharborsmultiplelineagesoftranscriptionallyactiveitmutatoritlikeelements AT cararetoclaudiama protistittrichomonasvaginalisitharborsmultiplelineagesoftranscriptionallyactiveitmutatoritlikeelements |