Mosquito genomes are frequently invaded by transposable elements through horizontal transfer

Abstract

Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile genetic elements that parasitize basically all eukaryotic species genomes. Due to their complexity, an in-depth TE characterization is only available for a handful of model organisms. In the present study, we performed ade novoand homology-based characterization of TEs in the genomes of 24 mosquito species and investigated their mode of inheritance. More than 40% of the genome ofAedes aegypti,Aedes albopictus, andCulex quinquefasciatusis composed of TEs, while it varied substantially amongAnophelesspecies (0.13%–19.55%). Class I TEs are the most abundant among mosquitoes and at least 24 TE superfamilies were found. Interestingly, TEs have been extensively exchanged by horizontal transfer (172 TE families of 16 different superfamilies) among mosquitoes in the last 30 million years. Horizontally transferred TEs represents around 7% of the genome inAedesspecies and a small fraction inAnophelesgenomes. Most of these horizontally transferred TEs are from the three ubiquitous LTR superfamilies: Gypsy, Bel-Pao and Copia. Searching more than 32,000 genomes, we also uncovered transfers between mosquitoes and two different Phyla—Cnidaria and Nematoda—and two subphyla—Chelicerata and Crustacea, identifying a vector, the wormWuchereria bancrofti, that enabled the horizontal spread of a Tc1-mariner element among variousAnophelesspecies. These data also allowed us to reconstruct the horizontal transfer network of this TE involving more than 40 species. In summary, our results suggest that TEs are frequently exchanged by horizontal transfers among mosquitoes, influencing mosquito's genome size and variability.