title: Isolation and characterization of seventy-nine full-length mariner-like transposase genes in the Bambusoideae subfamily.
abstract: Mariner-like elements (MLEs) are the most diverse and widespread transposable elements, with members of the MLE superfamily found in fungi, plants, ciliates and animals. In a previous study, we characterized 82 MLE transposase gene fragments (average length 383 bp) in 44 bamboo species, indicating that MLEs are widespread, abundant and diverse in the Bambusoideae subfamily. In this study, we isolated 79 full-length MLE transposase genes from 63 bamboo species representing 38 genera in six subtribes mainly found in China. The transposases were highly conserved, mostly uniform in length and contained intact DNA-binding motifs and DD39D catalytic domains with few notable frameshift, indel and nonsense mutations. This suggested the MLEs are probably still mobile, not yet affected by vertical inactivation. A phylogenetic tree of the Bambusoideae subfamily established using ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer sequences was incongruent with a second tree based on the MLE transposase genes. This evidence, together with the presence of near-identical MLEs in distantly related species and diverse MLEs in closely related species, indicates that MLEs have evolved in a distinct manner, probably independently of speciation events in the subfamily. The evolution and diversity of MLE transposase genes in the Bambusoideae subfamily is discussed.
authors.affiliation: The Nurturing Station for the State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A & F University, LinAn, China.
authors.forename: Ming-Bing
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Ding-Qin
authors.initials: DQ
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D016384:Consensus Sequence; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D006109:Poaceae / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D019895:Transposases / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C111652:mariner transposases; D019895:Transposases