An endogenous retroviral envelope syncytin and its cognate receptor identified in the viviparous placental Mabuya lizard.

ABSTRACT: Syncytins are envelope genes from endogenous retroviruses that have been captured during evolution for a function in placentation. They have been found in all placental mammals in which they have been searched, including marsupials. Placental structures are not restricted to mammals but also emerged in some other vertebrates, most frequently in lizards, such as the viviparous Mabuya Scincidae. Here, we performed high-throughput RNA sequencing of a Mabuya placenta transcriptome and screened for the presence of retroviral env genes with a full-length ORF. We identified one such gene, which we named "syncytin-Mab1," that has all the characteristics expected for a syncytin gene. It encodes a membrane-bound envelope protein with fusogenic activity ex vivo, is express

SUBMITTER: Cornelis G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5754801 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature