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Peer-reviewedCC BYNature communications

The ongoing invasion of the endogenous retrovirus Kuruka in natural Drosophila melanogaster populations.

  • Riccardo Pianezza1,2
  • Sarah Saadain3,4
  • Matthew Beaumont3,4
  • Sarah Signor5
  • Robert Kofler3
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Biological Sciences and Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria. [email protected].
  2. 2Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria. [email protected].
  3. 3Department of Biological Sciences and Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
  4. 4Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
  5. 5Biological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA.
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Abstract

Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile DNA sequences that can proliferate within host genomes, occasionally capable of crossing species boundaries via horizontal transfer (HT). Here, we report the discovery and characterization of Kuruka, a recently invading TE in natural D. melanogaster populations. Kuruka encodes an envelope protein and belongs to the gypsy/gypsy superfamily, also called insect endogenous retroviruses. Analysis of over 1000 D. melanogaster genomes revealed that Kuruka first appeared in sub-Saharan Africa in 2010. Kuruka had spread to Asia, Europe and America in 2017-2019, and is still actively invading Europe and Oceania as of 2021. Phylogenomic analyses suggest that Kuruka entered in D. melanogaster via a recent HT from an Afrotropical Drosophila species, most likely D. erecta. This provides an example of recent TE transfer between an Afrotropical donor species and D. melanogaster. In D. erecta, Kuruka has a single genomic insertion, which is located within flamenco, a master regulator of TE activity. The presence of an active host defense (piRNAs) suggests that Kuruka is silenced in D. erecta. By capturing an invasion still in progress, our study sheds light on the processes that govern the emergence, establishment, and spread of TEs across species boundaries.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{pianezza2026ongoing,
  title = {{The ongoing invasion of the endogenous retrovirus Kuruka in natural Drosophila melanogaster populations.}},
  author = {Riccardo Pianezza and Sarah Saadain and Matthew Beaumont and Sarah Signor and Robert Kofler},
  journal = {Nature communications},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-77761-0},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42875441},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - The ongoing invasion of the endogenous retrovirus Kuruka in natural Drosophila melanogaster populations.
AU  - Riccardo Pianezza
AU  - Sarah Saadain
AU  - Matthew Beaumont
AU  - Sarah Signor
AU  - Robert Kofler
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/16
JO  - Nature communications
DO  - 10.1038/s41467-026-77761-0
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42875441
AB  - Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile DNA sequences that can proliferate within host genomes, occasionally capable of crossing species boundaries via horizontal transfer (HT). Here, we report the discovery and characterization of Kuruka, a recently invading TE in natural D. melanogaster populations. Kuruka encodes an envelope protein and belongs to the gypsy/gypsy superfamily, also called insect endogenous retroviruses. Analysis of over 1000 D. melanogaster genomes revealed that Kuruka first appeared in sub-Saharan Africa in 2010. Kuruka had spread to Asia, Europe and America in 2017-2019, and is still actively invading Europe and Oceania as of 2021. Phylogenomic analyses suggest that Kuruka entered in D. melanogaster via a recent HT from an Afrotropical Drosophila species, most likely D. erecta. This provides an example of recent TE transfer between an Afrotropical donor species and D. melanogaster. In D. erecta, Kuruka has a single genomic insertion, which is located within flamenco, a master regulator of TE activity. The presence of an active host defense (piRNAs) suggests that Kuruka is silenced in D. erecta. By capturing an invasion still in progress, our study sheds light on the processes that govern the emergence, establishment, and spread of TEs across species boundaries.
SN  - 2041-1723
ER  -