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No evidence for lateral gene transfer between salmonids and schistosomes

Nature Genetics volume 42, pages 918–919 (2010)Cite this article

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To the Editor:

A study published in this journal concluded that lateral gene transfer occurred from salmonid fish to two Schistosome species1. The deduction of gene transfer was based on the analysis of an expressed sequence tag library for Schistosoma japonicum (Adult SjC 7/94, GenBank accession number BU712912) and on PCR of genomic DNA and cDNA of Schistosoma mansoni and S. japonicum. Researchers in this study identified salmon transposon-like sequences in schistosomes, and these sequences were deposited in GenBank as schistosome-specific, salmon-like repeats (GenBank accession numbers AY834394–AY834403), stimulating considerable interest in the study's evolutionary implications2,3,4. Modern Schistosomatidae are parasitic helminths of mammals and birds, and the proximity to fish sufficient for gene transfer would require re-evaluation of the ecological and evolutionary history of these blood flukes. We here find no evidence for the proposed transfer of repetitive sequences from salmonids to S. mansoni and S. japonicum.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS/University of Perpignan Via Domitia, Center for Tropical and Mediterranean Biology and Ecology (UMR5244), Perpignan, France

    Christoph Grunau & Járôme Boissier

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  1. Christoph Grunau
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  2. Járôme Boissier
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Contributions

C.G. and J.B. designed the experiment and wrote the manuscript. C.G. performed the experimental work and the data analysis.

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Correspondence to Christoph Grunau.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Supplementary Note, Supplementary Tables 1 and 2 and Supplementary Figure 1 (PDF 2217 kb)

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Grunau, C., Boissier, J. No evidence for lateral gene transfer between salmonids and schistosomes. Nat Genet 42, 918–919 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1110-918

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