The mechanism by which the maize autonomous Ac transposable element gives rise to nonautonomous Ds elements is largely unknown. Sequence analysis of native maize Ds elements indicates a complex chimeric structure formed through deletions of Ac sequences with or without insertions of Ac-unrelated sequence blocks. These blocks are often flanked by short stretches of reshuffled and duplicated Ac sequences. To better understand the mechanism leading to Ds formation, we designed an assay for detecting alterations in Ac using transgenic tobacco plants carrying a single copy of Ac. We found frequent de novo alterations in Ac which were excision rather than sequence dependent, occurring within Ac but not within an almost identical Ds element and not within a stable transposase-producing gene. The de novo DNA rearrangements consisted of internal deletions with breakpoints usually occurring at short repeats and, in some cases, of duplication of Ac sequences or insertion of Ac-unrelated fragments. The ancient maize Ds elements and the young Ds elements in transgenic tobacco showed similar rearrangements, suggesting that Ac-Ds elements evolve rapidly, more so than stable genes, through deletions, duplications, and reshuffling of their own sequences and through capturing of unrelated sequences. The data presented here suggest that abortive Ac-induced gap repair, through the synthesis-dependent strand-annealing pathway, is the underlying mechanism for Ds element formation.

The structure and connectivity of protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks are maintained throughout evolution by coordinated changes (coevolution) of network proteins. Despite extensive research, relatively little is known regarding the molecular basis and functional implications of the coevolution of PPI networks. Here, we used proliferating cell nuclear antigen, a hub protein that mediates DNA replication and repair in eukaryotes, as a model system to study the coevolution of PPI networks in fungi. Using a combined bioinformatics and experimental approach, we discovered that PCNA-partner interactions tightly coevolved in fungal species, leading to specific modes of recognition. We found that fungal proliferating cell nuclear antigen-partner interaction networks diverged into two distinct groups as a result of such coevolution and that hybrid networks of these groups are functionally noncompatible in Saccharomyces cerevisiae . Our results indicate that the coevolution of PPI networks can form functional barriers between fungal species, and thus can promote and fix speciation.

Survival in acute myeloid leukemia is associated with NKp44 splice variants