Hybridogenesis and a potential case of R2 non-LTR retrotransposon horizontal transmission in Bacillus stick insects (Insecta Phasmida).

ABSTRACT: Horizontal transfer (HT) is an event in which the genetic material is transferred from one species to another, even if distantly related, and it has been demonstrated as a possible essential part of the lifecycle of transposable elements (TEs). However, previous studies on the non-LTR R2 retrotransposon, a metazoan-wide distributed element, indicated its vertical transmission since the Radiata-Bilateria split. Here we present the first possible instances of R2 HT in stick insects of the genus Bacillus (Phasmida). Six R2 elements were characterized in the strictly bisexual subspecies B. grandii grandii, B. grandii benazzii and B. grandii maretimi and in the obligatory parthenogenetic taxon B. atticus. These elements were compared with those previously retrieved in the facultative parthenoge

SUBMITTER: Scavariello C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5292737 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature