Recurrent evolution of selfishness from an essential tRNA synthetase in Caenorhabditis tropicalis.

ABSTRACT: No genome on Earth is free of selfish genes. This reflects both their ability to subvert the laws of inheritance and their de novo emergence from host genes. Yet, despite their ubiquity and key role in driving innovation, the mechanisms responsible for their genesis remain largely unexplored. Here we report the discovery of three toxin-antidote elements in the nematode Caenorhabditis tropicalis. Toxin-antidote elements are selfish genes that increase their frequency in populations by poisoning non-carrier individuals. We find that all three novel toxins-klmt-1, pzl-1 and hyde-1-arose via gene duplication from fars-3, an essential subunit of the phenylalanyl tRNA synthetase. Their antidotes-KSS proteins-are rapidly evolving F-box proteins that degrade toxins via the SCF ubiquitin-ligase com

SUBMITTER: Tikanova P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12680543 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature