Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is an important evolutionary force shaping prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes. HGT-acquired genes have been sporadically reported in insects, a lineage containing >50% of animals. We systematically examined HGT in 218 high-quality genomes of diverse insects and found that they acquired 1,410 genes exhibiting diverse functions, including many not previously reported, via 741 distinct transfers from non-metazoan donors. Lepidopterans had the highest average number of HGT-acquired genes. HGT-acquired genes containing introns exhibited substantially higher expression levels than genes lacking introns, suggesting that intron gains were likely involved in HGT adaptation. Lastly, we used the CRISPR-Cas9 system to edit the prevalent unreported gene LOC105383139, which was transferred into the last common ancestor of moths and butterflies. In diamondback moths, males lacking LOC105383139 courted females significantly less. We conclude that HGT has been a major contributor to insect adaptation.

水平基因转移（HGT）是塑造原核和真核基因组的重要进化力量。HGT 获得性基因在昆虫中已有零星报道，该谱系包含超过 50% 的动物。我们系统地检查了 218 个不同昆虫的高质量基因组中的 HGT，发现它们通过来自非后生动物供体的 741 次不同转移获得了 1,410 个表现出不同功能的基因，其中包括许多以前未报道过的基因。鳞翅目动物具有最高的平均 HGT 获得性基因数量。含有内含子的 HGT 获得性基因表现出比缺乏内含子的基因高得多的表达水平，这表明内含子的获得可能与 HGT 适应有关。最后，我们使用CRISPR-Cas9系统编辑了普遍存在的未报道基因LOC105383139，该基因被转移到飞蛾和蝴蝶的最后共同祖先中。在小菜蛾中，缺乏LOC105383139 的雄性对雌性的求爱明显较少。我们得出结论，HGT 是昆虫适应的主要贡献者。