Presence of a Shared 5'-Leader Sequence in Ancestral Human and Mammalian Retroviruses and Its Transduction into Feline Leukemia Virus.

ABSTRACT: Recombination events induce significant genetic changes, and this process can result in virus genetic diversity or in the generation of novel pathogenicity. We discovered a new recombinant feline leukemia virus (FeLV) gag gene harboring an unrelated insertion, termed the X region, which was derived from Felis catus endogenous gammaretrovirus 4 (FcERV-gamma4). The identified FcERV-gamma4 proviruses have lost their coding capabilities, but some can express their viral RNA in feline tissues. Although the X-region-carrying recombinant FeLVs appeared to be replication-defective viruses, they were detected in 6.4% of tested FeLV-infected cats. All isolated recombinant FeLV clones commonly incorporated a middle part of the FcERV-gamma4 5'-leader region as an X region. Surprisingly, a sequence cor

SUBMITTER: Kawasaki J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5625498 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature