Spoink, a LTR retrotransposon, invaded D. melanogaster populations in the 1990s

• Published in: PLoS genetics Vol. 20; no. 3; p. e1011201
• Main Authors: Pianezza, Riccardo, Scarpa, Almorò, Narayanan, Prakash, Signor, Sarah, Kofler, Robert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 26.03.2024; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Animals; Biology and Life Sciences; Computer and Information Sciences; DNA Transposable Elements; Drosophila; Drosophila - genetics; Drosophila melanogaster - genetics; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genomes; Horizontal transfer; P elements; Physiological aspects; Piwi-Interacting RNA; Research and Analysis Methods; Retroelements; Retrotransposons; Transposons; Australia; Zimbabwe; Austria
• ISSN: 1553-7404; 1553-7390; 1553-7404
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011201

During the last few centuries D. melanogaster populations were invaded by several transposable elements, the most recent of which was thought to be the P-element between 1950 and 1980. Here we describe a novel TE, which we named Spoink, that has invaded D. melanogaster. It is a 5216nt LTR retrotransposon of the Ty3/gypsy superfamily. Relying on strains sampled at different times during the last century we show that Spoink invaded worldwide D. melanogaster populations after the P-element between 1983 and 1993. This invasion was likely triggered by a horizontal transfer from the D. willistoni group, much as the P-element. Spoink is probably silenced by the piRNA pathway in natural populations and about 1/3 of the examined strains have an insertion into a canonical piRNA cluster such as 42AB. Given the degree of genetic investigation of D. melanogaster it is perhaps surprising that Spoink was able to invade unnoticed.