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PIF transposases are recurrently domesticated as ovary and nervous system regulatory proteins in Drosophila

ABSTRACT: Proteins encoded by transposable elements (TEs) play a vital role in their proliferation in host genomes. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have shown that TE proteins have contributed to the emergence of novel host proteins. In Drosophila, there are several proteins derived from the PIF/Harbinger transposase superfamily called Drosophila PIF Like Genes (DPLGs). Here, we investigated the function of four DPLGs (DPLG1-4) in D. melanogaster that are highly conserved and present across Drosophila but are deeply diverged from each other, and likely originated through independent domestication of the transposase from distinct PIF-like TE families. We have analyzed transcript localization of DPLG 1-4, tagged DPLG3 and DPLG4 and studied their protein localization and, produced null alleles for DPLG1 and DPLG4. RNA in situ hybridization reveals that DPLG1-4 have strikingly similar pattern of transcript localization in the gonads, and in the nervous system during embryogenesis, suggesting their domestication for related functions. DPLGs show co-expression enrichment with transcription factors in ovaries and during embryogenesis supporting that they may be domesticated as regulatory proteins in flies. DPLG3 and DPLG4 tagged proteins localize with DNA in the nucleus of the ovaries consistent with this hypothesis. Loss of DPLG1 or DPLG4 results in viability and/or fertility effects, while loss of both DPLG1 and DPLG4 resulted in no effect in viability or fertility suggesting genetic interaction between these two genes. Further, loss of DPLG4 showed increased survival in flies, and increased fertility in older females indicating its involvement in the process of ageing. Transcriptional analyses in the ovaries showed that the loss of either DPLG1 or DPLG4 protein leads to modest changes in transcription of a large and significantly overlapping set of genes, and also affects transposable elements activity. The observed functional overlap of independently domesticated transposases from the same TE family and genetic interaction between them suggests a stepping stone model in which domestication of a PIF/Harbinger transposase might promote the domestication of related transposases for gonad and nervous system regulatory functions.

ORGANISM(S): Drosophila melanogaster

PROVIDER: GSE162866 | GEO | 2021/12/31

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Growth rate can be genetically modified in many vertebrates by domestication and selection, and more recently by transgenesis overexpressing growth factor genes (e.g. growth hormone, GH). While the phenotypic end consequence is similar, it is currently not clear whether the same modifications to physiological pathways are occurring in both genetic processes, nor to what extent they may interact when combined. To examine these questions, we have used rainbow trout as a model species because non-domesticated wild strains are available as comparators to assess genetic and physiological changes that have arisen from domestication and from GH transgenesis. In addition to pure wild and pure domesticated strains, two different GH transgenes with markedly different growth effects were examined, both in a wild background and in hybrids which combined domesticated and wild genomes in addition to the transgene. We find that liver mRNAs show highly concordant changes in levels in both types of fast-growing fish, relative to wild type, for both up- and down-regulated genes. Further, among domesticated, transgenic, and their hybrid genotypes, a strong positive correlation was found between growth rate and the number of genes affected or their levels of mRNA. Functional analysis found that genes involved in immune function, carbohydrate metabolism, detoxification, transcription regulation, growth regulation, and lipid metabolism were affected in common by domestication and GH transgenesis. The common responses of domesticated and GH transgenic strains is consistent with the GH pathway or its downstream effects being upregulated in domesticated animals during their modification from wild-type growth rates. Microarray analyses were performed on five individual rainbow trout per group of pure wild, pure domesticated, GH transgenic strain 1 in wild, GH transgenic strain 2 in wild, GH transgenic strain 1 in wild-domestic hybrid, and GH transgenic strain 2 in wild-domestic hybrid hybridized (one slide per individual) against a common wild-type RNA pool.

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PIF transposases are recurrently domesticated as ovary and nervous system regulatory proteins in Drosophila

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