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Artigo
The genome of Blue-Capped Cordon-Bleu uncovers hidden diversity of LTR retrotransposons in Zebra Finch
Avian genomes have perplexed researchers by being conservative in both size and rearrangements, while simultaneously holding the blueprints for a massive species radiation during the last 65 million years (My). Transposable elements (TEs) in bird genomes are relatively scarce but have been implic...
Autor principal: | Boman, Jesper |
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Outros Autores: | Frankl-Vilches, Carolina, Santos, Michelly da Silva dos, Oliveira, Edivaldo Herculano Correa de, Gahr, Manfred, Suh, Alexander |
Grau: | Artigo |
Idioma: | eng |
Publicado em: |
MDPI
2019
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Assuntos: | |
Acesso em linha: |
http://patua.iec.gov.br//handle/iec/3715 |
Resumo: |
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Avian genomes have perplexed researchers by being conservative in both size and
rearrangements, while simultaneously holding the blueprints for a massive species radiation during the
last 65 million years (My). Transposable elements (TEs) in bird genomes are relatively scarce but have
been implicated as important hotspots for chromosomal inversions. In zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata),
long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons have proliferated and are positively associated with
chromosomal breakpoint regions. Here, we present the genome, karyotype and transposons of
blue-capped cordon-bleu (Uraeginthus cyanocephalus), an African songbird that diverged from zebra
finch at the root of estrildid finches 10 million years ago (Mya). This constitutes the third linked-read
sequenced genome assembly and fourth in-depth curated TE library of any bird. Exploration of TE
diversity on this brief evolutionary timescale constitutes a considerable increase in resolution for
avian TE biology and allowed us to uncover 4.5 Mb more LTR retrotransposons in the zebra finch
genome. In blue-capped cordon-bleu, we likewise observed a recent LTR accumulation indicating that
this is a shared feature of Estrildidae. Curiously, we discovered 25 new endogenous retrovirus-like
LTR retrotransposon families of which at least 21 are present in zebra finch but were previously
undiscovered. This highlights the importance of studying close relatives of model organisms. |