The highly diverse repertoire of transposable elements within the genomes of parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Abstract Transposable elements (TEs) are known to be major components of eukaryotic genomes and impact genome evolution and architecture, including in the speciose lineage of Insecta. Although new and increased efforts have allowed for more insect genomes to become available, our understanding of in...

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Main Authors: Rachel N. Behm, Barbara J. Sharanowski
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-06-01
Series:Mobile DNA
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13100-025-00360-1
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author Rachel N. Behm
Barbara J. Sharanowski
author_facet Rachel N. Behm
Barbara J. Sharanowski
author_sort Rachel N. Behm
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Transposable elements (TEs) are known to be major components of eukaryotic genomes and impact genome evolution and architecture, including in the speciose lineage of Insecta. Although new and increased efforts have allowed for more insect genomes to become available, our understanding of insect TE diversity across various lineages is poor. This lack of knowledge is especially true in the hyper-diverse Hymenoptera (including bees, ants, wasps, and sawflies) which includes some of the most beneficial insects, such as pollinators and parasitoid (parasitic) wasps. Here, we present the order-level TE composition and analyze its phylogenetic signal across the Braconidae (Hymenoptera), a very diverse lineage of parasitic wasps. Further we investigate the effect of TEs on genome size and note a positive relationship that has some distinct lineage specific differences. Despite phylogenetically conserved genome sizes within Braconidae, we found that TE abundance and diversity was not phylogenetically conserved and was highly variable across taxa, more so than what has been reported for other insect lineages. This represents the first comparative genomic analysis of TEs in a lineage of parasitic wasps and increases our understanding of the diversity of TE composition across related taxa.
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spelling doaj-art-1faa7044f2374a1fb65ad9b51b88b29c2025-08-20T02:39:44ZengBMCMobile DNA1759-87532025-06-0116111210.1186/s13100-025-00360-1The highly diverse repertoire of transposable elements within the genomes of parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)Rachel N. Behm0Barbara J. Sharanowski1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Central FloridaDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Central FloridaAbstract Transposable elements (TEs) are known to be major components of eukaryotic genomes and impact genome evolution and architecture, including in the speciose lineage of Insecta. Although new and increased efforts have allowed for more insect genomes to become available, our understanding of insect TE diversity across various lineages is poor. This lack of knowledge is especially true in the hyper-diverse Hymenoptera (including bees, ants, wasps, and sawflies) which includes some of the most beneficial insects, such as pollinators and parasitoid (parasitic) wasps. Here, we present the order-level TE composition and analyze its phylogenetic signal across the Braconidae (Hymenoptera), a very diverse lineage of parasitic wasps. Further we investigate the effect of TEs on genome size and note a positive relationship that has some distinct lineage specific differences. Despite phylogenetically conserved genome sizes within Braconidae, we found that TE abundance and diversity was not phylogenetically conserved and was highly variable across taxa, more so than what has been reported for other insect lineages. This represents the first comparative genomic analysis of TEs in a lineage of parasitic wasps and increases our understanding of the diversity of TE composition across related taxa.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13100-025-00360-1
spellingShingle Rachel N. Behm
Barbara J. Sharanowski
The highly diverse repertoire of transposable elements within the genomes of parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)
Mobile DNA
title The highly diverse repertoire of transposable elements within the genomes of parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)
title_full The highly diverse repertoire of transposable elements within the genomes of parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)
title_fullStr The highly diverse repertoire of transposable elements within the genomes of parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)
title_full_unstemmed The highly diverse repertoire of transposable elements within the genomes of parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)
title_short The highly diverse repertoire of transposable elements within the genomes of parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)
title_sort highly diverse repertoire of transposable elements within the genomes of parasitic wasps hymenoptera braconidae
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13100-025-00360-1
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