Possible horizontal transfer of a transposable element from host to parasitoid

Abstract

Full-length mariner-like elements (MLEs) were identified from both a parasitoid wasp, Ascogaster reticulatus, and its moth host, Adoxophyes honmai. MLEs were detected in two related Tortricid moths, but not in another Ascogaster species. The MLEs of A. reticulatus and A. honmai were 97.6% identical in DNA sequence. This high similarity suggests a recent horizontal transfer, probably from the moth host to the wasp parasitoid, facilitated by the intimacy of the host-parasitoid relationship.