A population genetic study of the evolution of SINEs. II. Sequence evolution under the master copy model

Alu master copies serve as the drivers of differential SINE transposition in recent primate genomes

Alu elements, averaging ~300bp in length, are a family of primate-specific short intersperse nuclear elements (SINEs) with more than one million copies and contributing to ~11% of primate genomes. Despite mostly being shared among primates, our recent study revealed highly differential recent Alu transposition among the genomes of primates from Hominidae and Cercopithecidae families. To understand the underlying mechanism, we analyzed six primate genomes and revealed species- and lineage-specific Alu profile exclusively defined by AluY composition. Among all Alus from the 6 genomes, we identified 5401 Alu master copies with 99% being from the AluY subfamily. The numbers of Alu master copies are positively correlated to the number of AluY elements in the genomes with the baboon genome having the largest number of most recent Alu master copies at high activities, while the crab-eating macaque genome having a low number of Alu master copies with low activity. Furthermore, the expression level of Alu master copies is positively correlated with their transposition activity. Our results support the concept that Alu transposition in primate genomes is driven by a small number of master copies, the number and relative activity of which contribute to the differential Alu transposition in recent primate genomes.

Long-term evolution of transposable elements

Transposable elements are often considered parasitic DNA sequences, able to invade the genome of their host thanks to their self-replicating ability. This colonization process has been extensively studied, both theoretically and experimentally, but their long-term coevolution with the genomes is still poorly understood. In this work, we aim to challenge previous population genetics models by considering features of transposable elements as quantitative, rather than discrete, variables. We also describe more realistic transposable element dynamics by accounting for the variability of the insertion effect, from deleterious to adaptive, as well as mutations leading to a loss of transposition activity and to nonautonomous copies. Individual-based simulations of the behavior of a transposable-element family over several thousand generations show different ways in which active or inactive copies can be maintained for a very long time. Results reveal an unexpected impact of genetic drift on the "junk DNA" content of the genome and strongly question the likelihood of the sustainable long-term stable transposition-selection equilibrium on which numerous previous works were based.

The evolution of mobile DNAs: when will transposons create phylogenies that look as if there is a master gene?

Some families of mammalian interspersed repetitive DNA, such as the Alu SINE sequence, appear to have evolved by the serial replacement of one active sequence with another, consistent with there being a single source of transposition: the "master gene." Alternative models, in which multiple source sequences are simultaneously active, have been called "transposon models." Transposon models differ in the proportion of elements that are active and in whether inactivation occurs at the moment of transposition or later. Here we examine the predictions of various types of transposon model regarding the patterns of sequence variation expected at an equilibrium between transposition, inactivation, and deletion. Under the master gene model, all bifurcations in the true tree of elements occur in a single lineage. We show that this property will also hold approximately for transposon models in which most elements are inactive and where at least some of the inactivation events occur after transposition. Such tree shapes are therefore not conclusive evidence for a single source of transposition.

Paleogenomic record of the extinction of human endogenous retrovirus ERV9

An outstanding question of genome evolution is what stops the invasion of a host genome by transposable elements (TEs). The human genome, harboring the remnants of many extinct TE families, offers an extraordinary opportunity to investigate this problem. ERV9 is an endogenous retrovirus repeatedly mobilized during primate evolution, 15 to 6 million years ago (MYA), which left a trace of over a hundred provirus-like copies and at least 4,000 solitary long terminal repeats (LTRs) in the human genome. Then, its proliferation ceased for unknown reasons, and the family went extinct. We have made a detailed reconstruction of its last active subfamily, ERV9_XII, by examining 115 solitary LTRs from it. These insertions were grouped into 11 sets according to shared nucleotide variants, which could be placed in a sequential order of 10 to 6 MYA. At least 75% of the subfamily was produced 8 to 6 MYA, during a stage of intense proliferation. With new analytical tools, we show that the youngest and most prolific sets may have been produced by effectively instantaneous expansions of corresponding single-sequence variants. The extinction of this family apparently was not a consequence of its slow gradual degeneration, but the outcome of the fixation of specific restrictive alleles in the human-chimpanzee ancestral population. Three species-specific insertions (two in humans and one in chimpanzees) were identified, further supporting that extinction took place when these two species were beginning to diverge. These are the only fixed differences of this kind so far observed between humans and chimpanzees, apart from those belonging to the human endogenous retrovirus K family.

A newly isolated family of short interspersed repetitive elements (SINEs) in coregonid fishes (whitefish) with sequences that are almost identical to those of the SmaI family of repeats: possible evidence for the horizontal transfer of SINEs

The SmaI family of repeats is present only in the chum salmon and the pink salmon, and it is not present in five other species in the same genus or in other species in closely related genera. In the present study, we showed that another short interspersed repetitive elements (SINEs) family, which is almost identical to the SmaI family, is present in all fishes in the subfamily Coregoninae, being regarded as the most primitive salmonids. This new family of SINEs was designated the SmaI-cor family (SmaI family of repeats in coregonids). The consensus sequence of the SmaI-cor family was found to be 98.6% homologous to that of the SmaI family. Accordingly, it is difficult to explain the high degree of homology between these two families of SINEs by any mechanism other than the horizontal transfer of SINEs. The estimates of the rate of neutral mutation of nuclear genes, comparing chum salmon and European whitefish, confirmed this possibility. Our results strongly suggest that a member(s) of the SmaI-cor family might have been transferred horizontally from one coregonid species to a common ancestor of chum and pink salmon or to these two species independently, to allow subsequent amplification of the SmaI family in their respective genomes.

Neutral theory of molecular evolution

DNA sequence data are generally interpreted as favouring Kimura's neutral theory but not without dissent and often with a great deal of controversy with respect to molecular clocks, DNA polymorphism, adaptive evolution, and gene genealogy. Although the theory serves as a guiding principle, many issues concerning mutation, recombination, and selection remain unsettled. Of particular importance is the need for more knowledge about the function and structure of molecules.