TRT, a Vertebrate and Protozoan Tc1-Like Transposon: Current Activity and Horizontal Transfer

We report a Danio rerio transposon named DrTRT, for D. rerio Transposon Related to Tc1. The complete sequence of the DrTRT transposon is 1,563 base pairs (bp) in length, and its transposase putatively encodes a 338-amino acid protein that harbors a DD37E motif in its catalytic domain. We present evidence based on searches of publicly available genomes that TRT elements commonly occur in vertebrates and protozoa. Phylogenetic and functional domain comparisons confirm that TRT constitutes a new subfamily within the Tc1 family. Hallmark features of having no premature termination codons within the transposase, the presence of all expected functional domains, and its occurrence in the bony fish transcriptome suggest that TRT might have current or recent activity in these species. Further analysis showed that the activity of TRT elements in these species might have arisen about between 4 and 19 Ma. Interestingly, our results also implied that the widespread distribution of TRT among fishes, frog, and snakes is the result of multiple independent HT events, probably from bony fishes to snakes or frog. Finally, the mechanisms underlying horizontal transfer of TRT elements are discussed.