Assessing the roles of endogenous retrovirus EAV-HP in avian leukosis virus subgroup J emergence and tolerance.

ABSTRACT: Avian leukosis virus (ALV) subgroup J is thought to have emerged through a recombination event between an unknown exogenous ALV and the endogenous retrovirus elements designated EAV-HP. All EAV-HP elements identified to date in the chicken genome show large deletions, including that of the entire pol gene. Here we report the identification of four segregating chicken EAV-HP proviruses with complete pol genes, one of which shows exceptionally high sequence identity and a close phylogenetic relationship with ALV-J with respect to the env gene. Embryonic expression of EAV-HP env has been suggested as a factor associated with immunological tolerance induction in a proportion of ALV-J-infected meat-type chickens. In support of this, env gene transcripts expressed from two of the four newly iden

SUBMITTER: Sacco MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC516401 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature