Dataset Information

Random Sampling of Squamate Reptiles in Spanish Natural Reserves Reveals the Presence of Novel Adenoviruses in Lacertids (Family Lacertidae) and Worm Lizards (Amphisbaenia).

ABSTRACT: Here, we report the results of a large-scale PCR survey on the prevalence and diversity of adenoviruses (AdVs) in samples collected randomly from free-living reptiles. On the territories of the Guadarrama Mountains National Park in Central Spain and of the Chafarinas Islands in North Africa, cloacal swabs were taken from 318 specimens of eight native species representing five squamate reptilian families. The healthy-looking animals had been captured temporarily for physiological and ethological examinations, after which they were released. We found 22 AdV-positive samples in representatives of three species, all from Central Spain. Sequence analysis of the PCR products revealed the existence of three hitherto unknown AdVs in 11 Carpetane rock lizards (Iberolacerta cyreni), nine Iberian worm lizards (Blanus cinereus), and two Iberian green lizards (Lacerta schreiberi), respectively. Phylogeny inference showed every novel putative virus to be a member of the genus Atadenovirus. This is the very first description of the occurrence of AdVs in amphisbaenian and lacertid hosts. Unlike all squamate atadenoviruses examined previously, two of the novel putative AdVs had A+T rich DNA, a feature generally deemed to mirror previous host switch events. Our results shed new light on the diversity and evolution of atadenoviruses.

SUBMITTER: Szirovicza L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4939969 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Random Sampling of Squamate Reptiles in Spanish Natural Reserves Reveals the Presence of Novel Adenoviruses in Lacertids (Family Lacertidae) and Worm Lizards (Amphisbaenia).

Szirovicza Leonóra L López Pilar P Kopena Renáta R Benkő Mária M Martín José J Pénzes Judit J JJ

PloS one 20160711 7

Here, we report the results of a large-scale PCR survey on the prevalence and diversity of adenoviruses (AdVs) in samples collected randomly from free-living reptiles. On the territories of the Guadarrama Mountains National Park in Central Spain and of the Chafarinas Islands in North Africa, cloacal swabs were taken from 318 specimens of eight native species representing five squamate reptilian families. The healthy-looking animals had been captured temporarily for physiological and ethological ...[more]

PMID: 27399970

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Project description:BackgroundThe evolution of elongated body forms in tetrapods has a strong influence on the musculoskeletal system, including the reduction of pelvic and pectoral girdles, as well as the limbs. However, despite extensive research in this area it still remains unknown how muscles within and around bony girdles are affected by these reductions. Here we investigate this issue using fossorial amphisbaenian reptiles, or worm lizards, as a model system, which show substantial variation in the degree of reductions of girdles and limbs. Using iodine-based contrast-enhanced computed tomography (diceCT), we analyze the composition of the shoulder muscles of the main clades of Amphisbaenia and their outgroups relative to the pectoral skeleton.ResultsAll investigated amphisbaenian taxa retain the full set of 17 shoulder muscles, independent of the degree of limb and girdle reductions, whereas in some cases muscles are fused to complexes or changed in morphology relative to the ancestral condition. Bipes is the only taxon that retains forelimbs and an almost complete pectoral girdle. All other amphisbaenian families show more variation concerning the completeness of the pectoral girdle having reduced or absent girdle elements. Rhineura, which undergoes the most severe bone reductions, differs from all other taxa in possessing elongated muscle strands instead of discrete shoulder muscles. In all investigated amphisbaenians, the shoulder muscle agglomerate is shortened and shifted anteriorly relative to the ancestral position as seen in the outgroups.ConclusionsOur results show that pectoral muscle anatomy does not necessarily correspond to the loss or reduction of bones, indicating a decoupling of the musculoskeletal system. Muscle attachment sites change from bones to non-skeletal areas, such as surrounding muscles, skin or connective tissue, whereas muscle origins themselves remain in the same region where the pectoral bones were ancestrally located. Our findings indicate a high degree of developmental autonomy within the musculoskeletal system, we predict that the observed evolutionary rearrangements of amphisbaenian shoulder muscles were driven by functional demands rather than by developmental constraints. Nevertheless, worm lizards display a spatial offset of both pectoral bones and muscles relative to the ancestral position, indicating severe developmental modifications of the amphisbaenian body axis.

Project description:Transposable elements (TEs) are highly abundant in the genome and capable of mobility, two properties that make them particularly prone to transfer horizontally between organisms. Although the impact of horizontal transfer (HT) of TEs is well recognized in prokaryotes, the frequency of this phenomenon and its contribution to genome evolution in eukaryotes remain poorly appreciated. Here, we provide evidence that a DNA transposon called SPIN has colonized the genome of 17 species of reptiles representing nearly every major lineage of squamates, including 14 families of lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians. Slot blot analyses indicate that SPIN has amplified to high copy numbers in most of these species, ranging from 2,000-28,000 copies per haploid genome. In contrast, we could not detect the presence of SPIN in any of the turtles (seven species from seven families) and crocodiles (four species) examined. Genetic distances between SPIN sequences from species belonging to different squamate families are consistently very low (average = 0.1), considering the deep evolutionary divergence of the families investigated (most are >100 My diverged). Furthermore, these distances fall below interfamilial distances calculated for two genes known to have evolved under strong functional constraint in vertebrates (RAG1, average = 0.24 and C-mos, average = 0.27). These data, combined with phylogenetic analyses, indicate that the widespread distribution of SPIN among squamates is the result of at least 13 independent events of HTs. Molecular dating and paleobiogeographical data suggest that these transfers took place during the last 50 My on at least three different continents (North America, South America and, Africa). Together, these results triple the number of known SPIN transfer events among tetrapods, provide evidence for a previously hypothesized transoceanic movement of SPIN transposons during the Cenozoic, and further underscore the role of HT in the evolution of vertebrate genomes.

Dataset Information

Random Sampling of Squamate Reptiles in Spanish Natural Reserves Reveals the Presence of Novel Adenoviruses in Lacertids (Family Lacertidae) and Worm Lizards (Amphisbaenia).

Publications

Random Sampling of Squamate Reptiles in Spanish Natural Reserves Reveals the Presence of Novel Adenoviruses in Lacertids (Family Lacertidae) and Worm Lizards (Amphisbaenia).

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