Simultaneous TE Analysis of 19 Heliconiine Butterflies Yields Novel Insights into Rapid TE-Based Genome Diversification and Multiple SINE Births and Deaths

Transposable elements (TEs) play major roles in the evolution of genome structure and function. However, because of their repetitive nature, they are difficult to annotate and discovering the specific roles they may play in a lineage can be a daunting task. Heliconiine butterflies are models for the study of multiple evolutionary processes including phenotype evolution and hybridization. We attempted to determine how TEs may play a role in the diversification of genomes within this clade by performing a detailed examination of TE content and accumulation in 19 species whose genomes were recently sequenced. We found that TE content has diverged substantially and rapidly in the time since several subclades shared a common ancestor with each lineage harboring a unique TE repertoire. Several novel SINE lineages have been established that are restricted to a subset of species. Furthermore, the previously described SINE, Metulj, appears to have gone extinct in two subclades while expanding to significant numbers in others. This diversity in TE content and activity has the potential to impact how heliconiine butterflies continue to evolve and diverge

Mercury bioaccumulation in bats reflects dietary connectivity to aquatic food webs

DJB was funded by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, an ARCS Foundation Award, Sigma Xi, the Odum School of Ecology, the University of Georgia Graduate School, the Explorer's Club, and the University of Georgia Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute. MMC and JMK were supported by a Texas Christian University Research and Creative Activities Fund Award, and HGB was supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant. TRR was supported by the Yawkey Foundation and Clemson University, and this paper represents Technical Contribution No. 6533 of the Clemson University Experiment Station. SGP was supported by the Wildlife Conservation Society, and NBS was supported by the American Museum of Natural History Taxonomic Mammalogy Fund