Viral Hitchhikers and Macroevolution: A Novel Hypothesis on Explosive Speciation

Abstract

Mobile genetic elements (e.g., endogenous viruses, LINEs, SINEs) can transfer between genomes, even between species, triggering dramatic genetic changes. Endogenous viral elements (EVEs) arise when infectious viruses integrate into the host germline. EVEs integrate at specific sites; their genes or regulatory regions can be exapted and could induce chromosomal rearrangement. We propose that EVEs participate in adaptive radiations and that their parent viruses, through interspecific transfer, could initiate new species formation. By synchronously affecting multiple individuals, viral outbreaks generate shared genomic changes that both facilitate reproductive isolation and provide the simultaneous modifications needed for groups to emerge as founders of new species. We suggest horizontal viral transfer during the K-Pg accelerated mammalian radiation linking viral epidemics to macroevolutionary diversification. This theoretical work proposes endogenous viruses as catalysts for explosive speciation.