Molecular characterization and phylogenetic position of a new mariner-like element in the coastal crab, Pachygrapsus marmoratus

Mariner-like elements (MLEs) are class-II transposable elements that move within the genome of their hosts by means of a DNA-mediated “cut and paste” mechanism. MLEs have been identified in several organisms, from most of the phyla. Nevertheless, only a few of the sequences characterized contain an intact open reading frame. Investigation of the genome of a coastal crab, Pachygrapsus marmoratus, has identified nine Pacmmar elements, two of which have an open reading frame encoding a putatively functional transposase. Nucleic acid analyses and comparison with the previous data showed that the GC contents of MLEs derived from coastal organisms such as P. marmoratus are significantly higher than those of terrestrial MLEs and significantly lower than those of hydrothermal ones. Furthermore, molecular phylogeny analyses have shown that Pacmmar elements constitute a new lineage of the irritans subfamily within the mariner family.