title: The Role of Vertical and Horizontal Transfer in the Evolutionary Dynamics of PIF-Like Transposable Elements in Triticeae.
abstract: PIF-like transposable elements are members of the PIF/Harbinger superfamily of DNA transposons found in the genomes of many plants, animals, and fungi. The evolution of the gene that encodes the transposase responsible for mobilizing PIF-like elements has been studied in both plants and animals, but the elements' history in flowering plants remains poorly known. In this work, we describe the phylogenetic distribution and evolution of PIF-like elements in the genomes of 21 diploid species from the wheat tribe, Triticeae, and we present the first convincing evidence of horizontal transfer of PIF elements in plant genomes. A phylogenetic analysis of 240 PIF sequences based on the conserved region of the transposase domain revealed at least four main transposase lineages. Their complex evolutionary history can be best explained by a combination of vertical transmission with differential evolutionary success among lineages, and occasional horizontal transfer between phylogenetically distant Triticeae genera. In addition, we identified 127 potentially functional transposase sequences indicating possible recent activity of PIF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States of America.
authors.forename: Dragomira N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Markova
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States of America.
authors.forename: Roberta J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Mason-Gamer
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D006109:Poaceae / Q000235:genetics*; D054730:Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D019895:Transposases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D019895:Transposases