Evolutionary Consequences of Unusually Large Pericentric TE-rich Regions in the Genome of a Neotropical Fig Wasp.

ABSTRACT: Transposable elements (TEs), despite generally being considered deleterious, represent a substantial portion of most eukaryotic genomes. Specific genomic regions, such as telomeres and pericentromeres, are often densely populated with TEs. In these regions, which tend to be gene-poor, reduced recombination shelters the genome from the deleterious effects of TEs. Here, we describe unusually large and continuous pericentromeric transposable element-rich regions in all chromosomes of the genome assembly of Pegoscapus hoffmeyeri sp. A (511.79 Mbp), a Neotropical fig wasp that is the obligate pollinator of Ficus obtusifolia. The identified pericentromeric transposable element-rich regions span nearly half (46%) of the genome, and harbor over 40% of all annotated genes, including 30% of conserve

SUBMITTER: Zhao Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12405890 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature