Abstract
BACKGROUND: Short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs) are non-autonomous non-LTR retrotransposons widespread across eukaryotes. They exist both as lineage-specific, fast-evolving elements and as ubiquitous superfamilies characterized by highly conserved domains (HCD). Several of these superfamilies have been described in bivalves, however their overall distribution and impact on host genome evolution are still unknown due to the extreme scarcity of transposon libraries for the clade. In this study, we examined more than 40 bivalve genomes to uncover the distribution of HCD-tRNA-related SINEs, discover novel SINE-LINE partnerships, and understand their possible role in shaping bivalve genome evolution. RESULTS: We found that bivalve HCD SINEs have an ancient origin, and they can rely on at least four different LINE clades. According to a "mosaic" evolutionary scenario, multiple LINE partner can promote the amplification of the same HCD SINE superfamilies while homologues LINE-derived tails are present between different superfamilies. Multiple SINEs were found to be highly similar between phylogenetically related species but separated by extremely long evolutionary timescales, up to ~ 400 million years. Studying their genomic distribution in a subset of five species, we observed different patterns of SINE enrichment in various genomic compartments as well as differences in the tendency of SINEs to form tandem-like and palindromic structures also within intronic sequences. Despite these differences, we observed that SINEs, especially older ones, tend to accumulate preferentially within genes, or in their close proximity, consistently with a model of survival bias for less harmful, short non-coding transposons in euchromatic genomic regions. CONCLUSION: Here we conducted a wide characterization of tRNA-related SINEs in bivalves revealing their taxonomic distribution and LINE partnerships across the clade. Moreover, through the study of their genomic distribution in five species, we highlighted commonalities and differences with other previously studied eukaryotes, thus extending our understanding of SINE evolution across the tree of life.