A Genomic Survey of Mayetiola destructor Mobilome Provides New Insights into the Evolutionary History of Transposable Elements in the Cecidomyiid Midges

Abstract

The availability of the Whole-Genome Sequence of the wheat pest Mayetiola destructor offers the opportunity to investigate the Transposable Elements (TEs) content and their relationship with the genes involved in the insect virulence. In this study, de novo annotation carried out using REPET pipeline showed that TEs occupy approximately 16% of the genome and are represented by 1038 lineages. Class II elements were the most frequent and most TEs were inactive due to the deletions they have accumulated. The analyses of TEs ages revealed a first burst at 20% of divergence from present that mobilized many TE families including mostly Tc1/mariner and Gypsy superfamilies and a second burst at 2% of divergence, which involved mainly the class II elements suggesting new TEs invasions. Additionally, 86 TEs insertions involving recently transposed elements were identified. Among them, several MITEs and Gypsy retrotransposons were inserted in the vicinity of SSGP and chemosensory genes. The findings represent a valuable resource for more in-depth investigation of the TE impact onto M. destructor genome and their possible influence on the expression of the virulence and chemosensory genes and consequently the behavior of this pest towards its host plants.

A chromosome-level genome assembly of the orange wheat blossom midge,Sitodiplosis mosellanaGéhin (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) provides insights into the evolution of a detoxification system

“…The TEs represented 21.09% of the whole S. mosellana genome. Similarly, TEs occupied approximately 16% of the M. destructor genome ( Ben Amara et al 2021 ) and 13.9% of the C. nasturtii genome ( Mori et al 2021 ). TE content varies greatly among the insects and differs even between species belonging the same order.…”

Genome-Wide Screening of Transposable Elements in the Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), Revealed Insertions with Potential Insecticide Resistance Implications

“…According to the TE composition analysis, TIR elements (9%) are the most abundant group of TEs in the whitefly genome, followed by the LINE (3%) and the LTR (0.6%). Abundance of TEs with TIRs has also been documented in other insects from different orders, such as the Hemiptera R. prolixus (4% of TIR elements) and the Diptera Mayetiola destructor (1% of TIR elements) [ 39 , 41 ]. The preponderance of TIR transposons may be linked to the activity of such elements, which may rely on active copies of the order.…”

Miniature Inverted-Repeat Transposable Elements (MITEs) in the Two Lepidopteran Genomes of Helicoverpa armigera and Helicoverpa zea

“…Several studies tried to identify MITEs in insect genomes. Recently, 84 MITE families covering 1.3 Mb were identified in the genome of the diptera Mayetiola destructor [32]. In the hemidipteran Bemisia tabaci genome, 71 MITE sequences were identified as mariner-like element derivatives [33].…”