文献类型： 外文期刊

作者： Urquhart, Andrew S. ¹ ; Chong, Nicholas F. ¹ ; Yang, Yongqing ¹ ; Idnurm, Alexander ¹ ;

作者机构： 1.Univ Melbourne, Sch BioSci, Parkville, Vic 3010, Australia

2.Macquarie Univ, Appl Biosci, N Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia

3.CSIRO, Agr & Food, St Lucia, Qld 4067, Australia

4.Inner Mongolia Acad Agr & Anim Husb Sci, Hohhot 010031, Peoples R China

期刊名称：CURRENT BIOLOGY （ 影响因子：10.9； 五年影响因子：12.621 ）

ISSN： 0960-9822

年卷期： 2022 年 32 卷 5 期

页码：

收录情况： SCI

摘要： The horizontal transfer of large gene clusters by mobile elements is a key driver of prokaryotic adaptation in response to environmental stresses. Eukaryotic microbes face similar stresses; however, a parallel role for mobile elements has not been established. A stress faced by many microorganisms is toxic metal ions in their environment. In fungi, identified mechanisms for protection against metals generally rely on genes that are dispersed within an organism's genome. Here, we discover a large (-85 kb) region that confers tolerance to five metal/metalloid ions (arsenate, cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc) in the genomes of some, but not all, strains of a fungus, Paecilomyces variotii. We name this region HEPHAESTUS (Hf) and present evidence that it is mobile within the P. variotii genome with features characteristic of a transposable element. HEPHAESTUS contains the greatest complement of host-beneficial genes carried by a transposable element in eukaryotes, suggesting that eukaryotic transposable elements might play a role analogous to bacteria in the horizontal transfer of large regions of host-beneficial DNA. Genes within HEPHAESTUS responsible for individual metal tolerances include those encoding a P-type ATPase transporter-PcaA-required for cadmium and lead tolerance, a transporter-ZrcA-providing tolerance to zinc, and a multicopper oxidase- McoA-conferring tolerance to copper. In addition, a subregion of Hf confers tolerance to arsenate. The genome sequences of other fungi in the Eurotiales contain further examples of HEPHAESTUS, suggesting that it is responsible for independently assembling tolerance to a diverse array of ions, including chromium, mercury, and sodium.