Molecular cloning and functional analysis of three type D endogenous retroviruses of sheep reveal a different cell tropism from that of the highly related exogenous jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus.

ABSTRACT: Integrated into the sheep genome are 15 to 20 copies of type D endogenous loci that are highly related to two exogenous oncogenic viruses, jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) and enzootic nasal tumor virus (ENTV). The exogenous viruses cause infectious neoplasms of the respiratory tract in small ruminants. In this study, we molecularly cloned three intact type D endogenous retroviruses of sheep (enJS56A1, enJS5F16, and enJS59A1; collectively called enJRSVs) and analyzed their genomic structures, their phylogenies with respect to their exogenous counterparts, their capacity to form viral particles, and the expression specificities of their long terminal repeats (LTRs). In addition, the pattern of expression of enJSRVs in vivo was studied by in situ hybridization. All of the three enJSRV prov

SUBMITTER: Palmarini M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC112339 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature