4 January, 2023
January 4, Exeter [UK] (ANI): A fungus that infects salamanders has been revealed to have many copies of the same "jumping genes."
Transposons, also known as jumping genes, have the ability to "copy and paste" themselves and affect the organism.
Most organisms have some repetitive DNA, some of which are jumping genes, however there are ways to inhibit or limit this as it can be harmful.
But a recent study lead by the University of Exeter's MRC Centre for Medical Mycology discovers that these jumping genes may have an evolutionary benefit in a fungus called Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal).
Not only did they discover various copies of these jumping genes repeated several times in the genome of Bsal, but the problematic gene also seems to have replicated a distinct set of genes that determine how badly it impacts infected fire salamanders.
Theresa Wacker, the initial author, stated that "Bsal and related fungus species infect amphibians worldwide and have caused more than 90 extinctions."
"Bsal infects newts and salamanders' skin, leaving them with deep lesions.
It first appeared in Asia, where many newts and salamanders can tolerate it to some extent, but it has now moved to Europe and is causing a fall in the number of salamanders there.
We discovered that Bsal has undergone a genome expansion relative to comparable species, meaning that it now has a bigger genome with more genes and also more of these "jumping gene" transposons.
According to a recent research, this proliferation was considerably facilitated by the ability of jumping gene transposons to copy and paste themselves.
Wacker stated that transposons are comparable to having several identical pages in an organism's genome if you see its genome as a blueprint.
And occasionally, other portions of the book get copied as well during the copying and pasting procedure.
It appears that some skin-damaging genes have been amplified as a result of the repeated jumping gene transposons' copying and pasting.
The salamanders' skin is destroyed faster by the fungus because it has more of these skin-destruction genes, making it more dangerous.
Repetitive DNA, which includes jumping genes, is commonly referred classified as "junk" DNA, according to senior author Dr. Rhys Farrer.
According to him, "most organisms have a few jumping gene transposons."
"They generally account for less than 1% of the genome in humans, and we have regulatory mechanisms to keep this from increasing.
"Repeated jumping genes make up around 19% of the genome in Bsal.
Transposon jumping genes can disrupt normal gene activity and result in issues for the organism, however for Bsal, the benefits appear to exceed the disadvantages.
The group is currently conducting more study.
This type of gene repeat likely occurs more frequently in nature than we presently realise, according to Dr. Farrer.
"It's not apparent why this isn't much more prevalent if, as appears to be the case, it gives an evolutionary benefit for the virus by making it more virulent."
Dr. Farrer referred to the study's findings as a "paradigm shift" since they identified repetitive genomic content as the primary driving factor behind its pathobiology, shedding fresh light on the development of a serious amphibian illness. (ANI)
This report was created automatically by the ANI news agency. ThePrint is not liable for its contents.
.webp)
If you have any doubts, please let me know