title: Horizontal transfer of OC1 transposons in the Tasmanian devil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is growing recognition that horizontal DNA transfer, a process known to be common in prokaryotes, is also a significant source of genomic variation in eukaryotes. Horizontal transfer of transposable elements (HTT) may be especially prevalent in eukaryotes given the inherent mobility, widespread occurrence, and prolific abundance of these elements in many eukaryotic genomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Here, we provide evidence for a new case of HTT of the transposon family OposCharlie1 (OC1) in the Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisii. Bioinformatic analyses of OC1 sequences in the Tasmanian devil genome suggest that this transposon infiltrated the common ancestor of the Dasyuridae family ~17 million years ago. This estimate is corroborated by a PCR-based screen for the presence/absence of this family in Tasmanian devils and closely-related species.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This case of HTT is the first to be reported in dasyurids. It brings the number of animal lineages independently invaded by OC1 to 12, and adds a fourth continent to the pandemic-like pattern of invasion of this transposon. In the context of these data, we discuss the evolutionary history of this transposon family and its potential impact on the diversification of marsupials.
authors: Université de Poitiers, UMR CNRS 7267, Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Equipe Ecologie Evolution Symbiose, Poitiers, France.
authors: Clement
authors: C
authors: Gilbert
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Waters
authors: Cedric
authors: C
authors: Feschotte
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Schaack
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019295:Computational Biology; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D016678:Genome; D020071:Interspersed Repetitive Sequences; D008394:Marsupialia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements