Multiple invasions of Errantivirus in the genus Drosophila

Abstract

Aiming to contribute to the knowledge of the evolutionary history of Errantivirus, a phylogenetic analysis of the env gene sequences of Errantivirus gypsy, gtwin, gypsy2, gypsy3, gypsy4 and gypsy6 was carried out in 33 Drosophilidae species. Most sequences were obtained from in silico searches in the Drosophila genomes. The complex evolutionary pattern reported by other authors for the gypsy retroelement was also observed in the present study, including vertical transmission, ancestral polymorphism, stochastic loss and horizontal transfer. Moreover, the elements gypsy2, gypsy3, gypsy4 and gypsy6 were shown to have followed an evolutionary model that is similar to gypsy. Fifteen new possible cases of horizontal transfer were suggested. The infectious potential of these elements may help elucidate the evolutionary scenario described in the present study.