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Insects
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Transposable Elements in Insects
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Transposable Elements in Insects

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Molecular Biology and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 July 2022) | Viewed by 9243

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Maha Mezghani-Khémakhem

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Biochemistry and Biotechnology (LR01ES05), Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis 1068, Tunisia
Interests: transposable elements in phytophagous insect pests using molecular and bioinformatics tools with the aim of understanding the impact of mobile DNA on genome evolution and insect adaptation
Dr. Nathalie Casse

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
BiOSSE (Biology of Organisms: Stress Health Environment), Le Mans Université, 72085 Le Mans, France
Interests: transposable elements; genome evolution; plasticity
Dr. Benoît Chénais

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Guest Editor
BiOSSE, Biology of Organisms, Health, Stress, Environment, UFR Sciences et Techniques, Le Mans Université, 72085 Le Mans, CEDEX 9, France
Interests: cancer cell biology; DNA repair; transposable elements; bioactive molecules; gene expression; stress response; microalgae; polyunsaturated fatty acids
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile, repetitive DNA sequences that constitute a structurally dynamic component of genomes. Over the past few years, TEs have been extensively studied in a wide variety of insect species, and have been shown to influence the evolution, structure, amplification, gene creation, mutation, and transcriptional regulation of genes and genomes. They have been also used as genetic markers and tools in basic and applied science. This Special Issue aims to highlight progress and recent advances in the study of insect transposable elements. Submissions could be reviews or original research articles that present new data and analyses of mobile DNA in insects.

Prof. Maha Mezghani-Khémakhem
Dr. Nathalie Casse
Prof. Dr. Benoît Chénais
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • insects
  • transposable elements
  • evolution
  • adaptation
  • horizontal transfer
  • antiviral immunity
  • aging
  • genetic tools
  • pest control

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 3283 KiB  
Article
The Landscape of the DNA Transposons in the Genome of the Horezu_LaPeri Strain of Drosophila melanogaster
by Alexandru Marian Bologa, Ileana Stoica, Nicoleta Denisa Constantin and Alexandru Al. Ecovoiu
Insects 2023, 14(6), 494; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14060494 - 25 May 2023
Viewed by 1763
Abstract
Natural transposons (NTs) represent mobile DNA sequences found in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes. Drosophila melanogaster (the fruit fly) is a eukaryotic model organism with NTs standing for about 20% of its genome and has contributed significantly to the understanding of various aspects [...] Read more.
Natural transposons (NTs) represent mobile DNA sequences found in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes. Drosophila melanogaster (the fruit fly) is a eukaryotic model organism with NTs standing for about 20% of its genome and has contributed significantly to the understanding of various aspects of transposon biology. Our study describes an accurate approach designed to map class II transposons (DNA transposons) in the genome of the Horezu_LaPeri fruit fly strain, consecutive to Oxford Nanopore Technology sequencing. A whole genome bioinformatics analysis was conducted using Genome ARTIST_v2, LoRTE and RepeatMasker tools to identify DNA transposons insertions. Then, a gene ontology enrichment analysis was performed in order to evaluate the potential adaptive role of some DNA transposons insertions. Herein, we describe DNA transposon insertions specific for the Horezu_LaPeri genome and a predictive functional analysis of some insertional alleles. The PCR validation of P-element insertions specific for this fruit fly strain, along with a putative consensus sequence for the KP element, is also reported. Overall, the genome of the Horezu_LaPeri strain contains several insertions of DNA transposons associated with genes known to be involved in adaptive processes. For some of these genes, insertional alleles obtained via mobilization of the artificial transposons were previously reported. This is a very alluring aspect, as it suggests that insertional mutagenesis experiments conducting adaptive predictions for laboratory strains may be confirmed by mirroring insertions which are expected to be found at least in some natural fruit fly strains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transposable Elements in Insects)
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14 pages, 2564 KiB  
Article
Somatic Mobilization: High Somatic Insertion Rate of mariner Transposable Element in Drosophila simulans
by Mariana Cancian, Tiago Minuzzi Freire da Fontoura Gomes and Elgion Lucio Silva Loreto
Insects 2022, 13(5), 454; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13050454 - 12 May 2022
Viewed by 1703
Abstract
Although transposable elements (TEs) are usually silent in somatic tissues, they are sometimes mobilized in the soma and can potentially have biological consequences. The mariner element is one of the TEs involved in somatic mobilization (SM) in Drosophila and has a high rate [...] Read more.
Although transposable elements (TEs) are usually silent in somatic tissues, they are sometimes mobilized in the soma and can potentially have biological consequences. The mariner element is one of the TEs involved in somatic mobilization (SM) in Drosophila and has a high rate of somatic excision. It is also known that temperature is an important factor in the increase of the mariner element SM in the fly. However, it is important to emphasize that excision is only one step of TE transposition, and the final step in this process is insertion. In the present study, we used an assay based on sequencing of the mariner flanking region and developed a pipeline to identify novel mariner insertions in Drosophila simulans at 20 and 28 °C. We found that flies carrying two mariner copies (one autonomous and one non-autonomous) had an average of 236.4 (±99.3) to 279 (±107.7) new somatic insertions at 20 °C and an average of 172.7 (±95.3) to 252.6 (±67.3) at 28 °C. In addition, we detected fragments containing mariner and others without mariner in the same regions with low-coverage long-read sequencing, indicating the process of excision and insertion. In conclusion, a low number of autonomous copies of the mariner transposon can promote a high rate of new somatic insertions during the developmental stages of Drosophila. Additionally, the developed method seems to be sensitive and adequate for the verification and estimation of somatic insertion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transposable Elements in Insects)
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12 pages, 1504 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Screening of Transposable Elements in the Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), Revealed Insertions with Potential Insecticide Resistance Implications
by Marwa Zidi, Khouloud Klai, Johann Confais, Benoît Chénais, Aurore Caruso, Françoise Denis, Maha Mezghani Khemakhem and Nathalie Casse
Insects 2022, 13(5), 396; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13050396 - 19 Apr 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2294
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) are genetically mobile units that move from one site to another within a genome. These units can mediate regulatory changes that can result in massive changes in genes expression. In fact, a precise identification of TEs can allow the detection [...] Read more.
Transposable elements (TEs) are genetically mobile units that move from one site to another within a genome. These units can mediate regulatory changes that can result in massive changes in genes expression. In fact, a precise identification of TEs can allow the detection of the mechanisms involving these elements in gene regulation and genome evolution. In the present study, a genome-wide analysis of the Hemipteran pest Bemisia tabaci was conducted using bioinformatics tools to identify, annotate and estimate the age of TEs, in addition to their insertion sites, within or near of the defensome genes involved in insecticide resistance. Overall, 1,292,393 TE copies were identified in the B. tabaci genome grouped into 4872 lineages. A total of 699 lineages were found to belong to Class I of TEs, 1348 belong to Class II, and 2825 were uncategorized and form the largest part of TEs (28.81%). The TE age estimation revealed that the oldest TEs invasion happened 14 million years ago (MYA) and the most recent occurred 0.2 MYA with the insertion of Class II TE elements. The analysis of TE insertion sites in defensome genes revealed 94 insertions. Six of these TE insertions were found within or near previously identified differentially expressed insecticide resistance genes. These insertions may have a potential role in the observed insecticide resistance in these pests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transposable Elements in Insects)
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11 pages, 1954 KiB  
Article
Miniature Inverted-Repeat Transposable Elements (MITEs) in the Two Lepidopteran Genomes of Helicoverpa armigera and Helicoverpa zea
by Khouloud Klai, Marwa Zidi, Benoît Chénais, Françoise Denis, Aurore Caruso, Nathalie Casse and Maha Mezghani Khemakhem
Insects 2022, 13(4), 313; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13040313 - 23 Mar 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2160
Abstract
Miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements MITEs are ubiquitous, non-autonomous class II transposable elements. The moths, Helicoverpa armigera and Helicoverpa zea, are recognized as the two most serious pest species within the genus. Moreover, these pests have the ability to develop insecticide resistance. In [...] Read more.
Miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements MITEs are ubiquitous, non-autonomous class II transposable elements. The moths, Helicoverpa armigera and Helicoverpa zea, are recognized as the two most serious pest species within the genus. Moreover, these pests have the ability to develop insecticide resistance. In the present study, we conducted a genome-wide analysis of MITEs present in H. armigera and H. zea genomes using the bioinformatics tool, MITE tracker. Overall, 3570 and 7405 MITE sequences were identified in H. armigera and H. zea genomes, respectively. Comparative analysis of identified MITE sequences in the two genomes led to the identification of 18 families, comprising 140 MITE members in H. armigera and 161 MITE members in H. zea. Based on target site duplication (TSD) sequences, the identified families were classified into three superfamilies (PIF/harbinger, Tc1/mariner and CACTA). Copy numbers varied from 6 to 469 for each MITE family. Finally, the analysis of MITE insertion sites in defensome genes showed intronic insertions of 11 MITEs in the cytochrome P450, ATP-binding cassette transporter (ABC) and esterase genes in H. armigera whereas for H. zea, only one MITE was retrieved in the ABC-C2 gene. These insertions could thus be involved in the insecticide resistance observed in these pests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transposable Elements in Insects)
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