Active and unusually expanded PIF/Harbinger transposable elements in the Caenorhabditis inopinata genome

Clicks: 16
ID: 329993
2026
Free PDF
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
Emerging

Ranked #91 of 118 articles by views in genome biology and evolution

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
Abstract Understanding how transposable elements (TEs) transition from rapid amplification to functional decay is fundamental to unraveling the mechanisms of genome evolution and structural variation. How TE families evolve following expansion, specifically why distinct descendant lineages retain or lose mobilisation competence, remains poorly understood. The PIF/Harbinger superfamily, whose canonical elements encode two distinct proteins required for mobilisation—a DDE transposase and a MADF DNA-binding protein—provides a compelling model to address this question. In Caenorhabditis inopinata, the closest known relative of C. elegans, we identified a spontaneous dumpy mutant caused by insertion of a PIF/Harbinger element into the Cin-dpy-11 coding region. The inserted element, designated Harbinger-1M_cIno and belonging to the C. elegans Turmoil2 lineage, retains a MADF domain but lacks a recognisable DDE transposase open reading frame. Genome-wide curation recovered 258 related copies, revealing a strongly asymmetric family structure: noncoding and MADF-bearing derivatives expanded, whereas only a single locus retained an intact DDE gene. This demonstrates a novel functional partitioning where catalytic (DDE) and DNA-binding (MADF) roles are physically separated across distinct elements and supplied in trans. A second family, Harbinger-2M_cIno (1,376 copies), lacks a DDE source entirely and exhibits greater sequence divergence and terminal degradation. Together, these findings reveal that PIF/Harbinger lineages in C. inopinata differ in their timing of expansion and mobilisation competence, illustrating how bipartite TEs maintain activity through functional division while limiting host toxicity.
Reference Key
openalex_W7214641859 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Kazuki Sato, Xiaodan Jin, Shun Oomura, Kazuma Kawahara, Simo Sun, Akemi Yoshida, Nami Haruta, Asako Sugimoto, Taisei Kikuchi
Are you one of these authors? Claim your profile
Journal genome biology and evolution
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/gbe/evag240
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag240
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.