Unprecedented frequency of mitochondrial introns in colonial bilaterians

Jenkins, HL, Graham, R, Porter, JS, Vieira, LM, de Almeida, ACS, Hall, A, O'Dea, A, Coppard, SE and Waeschenbach, A 2022 Unprecedented frequency of mitochondrial introns in colonial bilaterians. Scientific Reports, 12, 10889. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14477-3

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Abstract/Summary

Animal mitogenomes are typically devoid of introns. Here, we report the largest number of mitochondrial introns ever recorded from bilaterian animals. Mitochondrial introns were identified for the first time from the phylum Bryozoa. They were found in four species from three families (Order Cheilostomatida). A total of eight introns were found in the complete mitogenome of Exechonella vieirai, and five, 17 and 18 introns were found in the partial mitogenomes of Parantropora penelope, Discoporella cookae and Cupuladria biporosa, respectively. Intron-encoded protein domains reverse transcriptase and intron maturase (RVT-IM) were identified in all species. Introns in E. vieirai and P. penelope had conserved Group II intron ribozyme domains V and VI. Conserved domains were lacking from introns in D. cookae and C. biporosa, preventing their further categorization. Putative origins of metazoan introns were explored in a phylogenetic context, using an up-to-date alignment of mitochondrial RVT-IM domains. Results confirmed previous findings of multiple origins of annelid, placozoan and sponge RVT-IM domains and provided evidence for common intron donor sources across metazoan phyla. Our results corroborate growing evidence that some metazoans with regenerative abilities (i.e. placozoans, sponges, annelids and bryozoans) are susceptible to intron integration, most likely via horizontal gene transfer.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Additional Keywords:	Mitochondrial Genome, Molecular Evolution, Group-II Introns, Catalytic Introns, Genome, Sequence, Gene, Bryozoans, Alignment, Metazoan, Invertebrate, Diversity
Subjects:	Biology Marine Sciences
Divisions:	Marine Biological Association of the UK > Other (MBA)
Depositing User:	Tamar Atkinson
Date made live:	22 Jul 2022 13:28
Last Modified:	09 Feb 2024 16:57
URI:	https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/9744

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