This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Tipper, C. H.
Right arrow Articles by Coffin, J. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Tipper, C. H.
Right arrow Articles by Coffin, J. M.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Virology, July 2005, p. 8316-8329, Vol. 79, No. 13
0022-538X/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.79.13.8316-8329.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Characterization of Hortulanus Endogenous Murine Leukemia Virus, an Endogenous Provirus That Encodes an Infectious Murine Leukemia Virus of a Novel Subgroup

Christopher H. Tipper, Craig E. Bencsics, and John M. Coffin*

Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts 02111

Received 12 December 2004/ Accepted 16 March 2005

Simple retroviruses present a unique opportunity for examining the host-virus relationship. Following exogenous infection and integration into the germ line, copies of these viruses can become fixed within the genome. The resulting endogenous proviral "fossils" represent a record of past retroviral infections and forms. Previous work in our laboratory has been directed at dissecting the extensive nonecotropic murine leukemia virus content of the mouse genome. One such provirus, hortulanus endogenous murine leukemia virus (HEMV), found in a single copy in the genome of Mus spicilegus, was remarkable for characteristics that suggested that it was ancient and related to the hypothetical common ancestor of murine leukemia viruses (MLVs) and other gammaretroviral species. In the present study, we have analyzed its functional properties. Transfection of a molecular clone of the HEMV provirus into mouse-derived cell lines revealed that it is replication competent. Furthermore, host range and interference studies revealed a strictly ecotropic host range and the use of a receptor distinct from those used by other classical MLVs. The identity of nucleotide sequence of the long terminal repeats (LTRs) further suggested that HEMV is a relatively recent insertion into the M. spicilegus genome at the distal end of chromosome 7. Although unique to M. spicilegus, its presence in a homozygous state in three individuals obtained from different regions implies that it has been present long enough to become fixed in this species. Exhaustive phylogenetic analysis of all regions of the HEMV genome supported the previously assigned ancestral position of HEMV relative to other MLV-related viruses. Thus, HEMV is a relatively recent introduction into the Mus germ line but is representative of a relatively ancestral MLV group.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111. Phone: (617) 636-6528. Fax: (617) 636-4086. E-mail: john.coffin{at}tufts.edu.

Journal of Virology, July 2005, p. 8316-8329, Vol. 79, No. 13
0022-538X/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.79.13.8316-8329.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Ribet, D., Harper, F., Esnault, C., Pierron, G., Heidmann, T. (2008). The GLN Family of Murine Endogenous Retroviruses Contains an Element Competent for Infectious Viral Particle Formation. J. Virol. 82: 4413-4419 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»