Giant Starship transposons drive horizontal gene transfer across fungal species
A survey of 1,348 fungal genomes identified at least 5,906 independent horizontal transfer events of transposable elements, published in Current Biology in 2026. Horizontally acquired transposable elements accounted for an average of 7.7% and up to 67% of fungal TE content. The transfers were not evenly distributed. They were concentrated in the Mucoromycotina subphylum and in three classes within Pezizomycotina: Sordariomycetes, Dothideomycetes and Leotiomycetes. Several TE groups were more frequently transferred, including Tc1/mariner DNA transposons, Copia retrotransposons and Tad1 retrotransposons. Both fungal lineage and TE type influence the distribution of horizontal transfer. Giant Starship transposons appear to facilitate the movement of smaller mobile elements and adaptive genes between species.
The findings show how fungi may gain adaptive traits through horizontal gene transfer, driving rapid genome evolution and new traits.
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