Captured retroviral envelope syncytin gene associated with the unique placental structure of higher ruminants.

ABSTRACT: Syncytins are envelope genes of retroviral origin that have been co-opted for a role in placentation and likely contribute to the remarkable diversity of placental structures. Independent capture events have been identified in primates, rodents, lagomorphs, and carnivores, where they are involved in the formation of a syncytium layer at the fetomaternal interface via trophoblast cell-cell fusion. We searched for similar genes within the suborder Ruminantia where the placenta lacks an extended syncytium layer but displays a heterologous cell-fusion process unique among eutherian mammals. An in silico search for intact envelope genes within the Bos taurus genome identified 18 candidates belonging to five endogenous retrovirus families, with one gene displaying both placenta-specific expressi

SUBMITTER: Cornelis G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3587263 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature