Identification and characterization of expressed retrotransposons in the genome of the Paracoccidioides species complex

Abstract

BackgroundSpecies from the Paracoccidioides complex are thermally dimorphic fungi and the causative agents of paracoccidioidomycosis, a deep fungal infection that is the most prevalent systemic mycosis in Latin America and represents the most important cause of death in immunocompetent individuals with systemic mycosis in Brazil. We previously described the identification of eight new families of DNA transposons in Paracoccidioides genomes. In this work, we aimed to identify potentially active retrotransposons in Paracoccidioides genomes.ResultsWe identified five different retrotransposon families (four LTR-like and one LINE-like element) in the genomes of three Paracoccidioides isolates. Retrotransposons were present in all of the genomes analyzed. P. brasiliensis and P. lutzii species harbored the same retrotransposon lineages but differed in their copy numbers. In the Pb01, Pb03 and Pb18 genomes, the number of LTR retrotransposons was higher than the number of LINE-like elements, and the LINE-like element RtPc5 was transcribed in Paracoccidioides lutzii (Pb01) but could not be detected in P. brasiliensis (Pb03 and Pb18) by semi-quantitative RT-PCR.ConclusionFive new potentially active retrotransposons have been identified in the genomic assemblies of the Paracoccidioides species complex using a combined computational and experimental approach. The distribution across the two known species, P. brasiliensis and P. lutzii, and phylogenetics analysis indicate that these elements could have been acquired before speciation occurred. The presence of active retrotransposons in the genome may have implications regarding the evolution and genetic diversification of the Paracoccidioides genus.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1564-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Symbiosis: Viruses as Intimate Partners

“…Retroelements are also common in fungi (129,130), and in the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe Tf1, an LTR retrotransposon inserts into the promoters of stress-response genes and may confer resistance to environmental stress (131).…”

sRNAs as possible regulators of retrotransposon activity in Cryptococcus gattii VGII

“…This diversification of the number of retrotransposon families among different fungal strains is in agreement with previous reports comparing the prevalence of such mobile elements among closely related species and strains of Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii [ 39 ], as well for Paracoccidioides spp. [ 40 ].…”