MBE Advance Access originally published online on June 2, 2004
Molecular Biology and Evolution 2004 21(10):1831-1842; doi:10.1093/molbev/msh183
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Research Article |
Complex Evolution of gypsy in Drosophilid Species

* Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; and
Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
E-mail: elgion{at}base.ufsm.br.
In an endeavor to contribute to the comprehension of the evolution of transposable elements (TEs) in the genome of host species, we investigated the phylogenetic relationships of sequences homologous to the retrotransposon gypsy of Drosophila melanogaster in 19 species of Drosophila, in Scaptodrosophila latifasciaeformis, and in Zaprionus indianus. This phylogenetic study was based on approximately 500 base pairs of the env gene. Our analyses showed considerable discrepancy between the phylogeny of gypsy elements and the relationship of their host species, and they allow us to infer a complex evolutionary pattern that could include ancestral polymorphism, vertical transmission, and several cases of horizontal transmission.
Key Words: gypsy Drosophila retrotransposon phylogeny horizontal transfer