Transposable element islands facilitate adaptation to novel environments in an invasive species

Lukas Schrader, Jay W. Kim, Daniel Ence, Aleksey Zimin, Antonia Klein, Katharina Wyschetzki, Tobias Weichselgartner, Carsten Kemena, Johannes Stökl, Eva Schultner, Yannick Wurm, Christopher D. Smith, Mark Yandell, Jürgen Heinze, Jürgen Gadau and Jan Oettler ()
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Lukas Schrader: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg
Jay W. Kim: University of California at Santa Cruz
Daniel Ence: Eccles Institute of Human Genetics, University of Utah
Aleksey Zimin: Institute for Physical Sciences and Technology, University of Maryland
Antonia Klein: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg
Katharina Wyschetzki: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg
Tobias Weichselgartner: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg
Carsten Kemena: Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität
Johannes Stökl: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg
Eva Schultner: University of Helsinki
Yannick Wurm: School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London
Christopher D. Smith: San Francisco State University
Mark Yandell: Eccles Institute of Human Genetics, University of Utah
Jürgen Heinze: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg
Jürgen Gadau: School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University
Jan Oettler: Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg

Nature Communications, 2014, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Adaptation requires genetic variation, but founder populations are generally genetically depleted. Here we sequence two populations of an inbred ant that diverge in phenotype to determine how variability is generated. Cardiocondyla obscurior has the smallest of the sequenced ant genomes and its structure suggests a fundamental role of transposable elements (TEs) in adaptive evolution. Accumulations of TEs (TE islands) comprising 7.18% of the genome evolve faster than other regions with regard to single-nucleotide variants, gene/exon duplications and deletions and gene homology. A non-random distribution of gene families, larvae/adult specific gene expression and signs of differential methylation in TE islands indicate intragenomic differences in regulation, evolutionary rates and coalescent effective population size. Our study reveals a tripartite interplay between TEs, life history and adaptation in an invasive species.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6495

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