Glomhopper—a subfamily of DUF3504-encoding CryptonA elements in Glomeromycota
Marianna Krysińska, Drishtee Barua, Anna Muszewska · 2026
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Description
Krysińska and co-authors announced in 2026 a new subfamily of jumping genes in the Glomeromycota, fungi that partner with plant roots. The elements belong to the CryptonA lineage of transposons, DNA segments that move using a tyrosine recombinase enzyme. The team named them Glomhoppers. Each carries a domain called DUF3504 with the working parts of an active enzyme. Structural modeling suggested a groove for gripping DNA.
Across 72 fungal genomes, about 1,800 Glomhopper copies turned up. Most were truncated or interrupted by introns. About a quarter lacked introns and kept their enzyme motifs intact, consistent with possible mobility. The elements cluster in repeat-rich genome regions alongside other transposon families. In Gigaspora species, the intronless versions responded to stress with several-fold higher activity than intron-bearing forms. Direct proof of jumping is still lacking, but a subset looks transcriptionally alive.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Marianna Krysińska, Drishtee Barua, Anna Muszewska |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 53 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |