A high frequency of detection of koala retrovirus fragments in Victorian koalas suggests historic integration of KoRV.

ABSTRACT: Recombinant koala retrovirus (recKoRV) is a recently discovered variant of koala retrovirus (KoRV), which likely emerged due to recombination with another retrovirus (such as Phascolarctos endogenous retrovirus). KoRV spread and endogenization in Australia were thought to be ongoing in a north to south direction given the low prevalence of the virus in southern koala populations, based on molecular detection of the pol gene. However, recKoRV has highlighted that fragments of KoRV with the pol region missing are present within southern koalas. In this study, a new 5'-region-based KoRV PCR assay was developed, capable of detecting both intact KoRV and all known variants of recKoRV. Using this assay, 319 archived DNA samples from 287 Victorian koalas were retested to investigate

SUBMITTER: Zheng L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12032406 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature