An ancient retroviral RNA element hidden in mammalian genomes and its involvement in co-opted retroviral gene regulation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Retroviruses utilize multiple unique RNA elements to control RNA processing and translation. However, it is unclear what functional RNA elements are present in endogenous retroviruses (ERVs). Gene co-option from ERVs sometimes entails the conservation of viral cis-elements required for gene expression, which might reveal the RNA regulation in ERVs.

Results

Here, we characterized an RNA element found in ERVs consisting of three specific sequence motifs, called SPRE. The SPRE-like elements were found in different ERV families but not in any exogenous viral sequences examined. We observed more than a thousand of copies of the SPRE-like elements in several mammalian genomes; in human and marmoset genomes, they overlapped with lineage-specific ERVs. SPRE was originally

SUBMITTER: Kitao K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8579622 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature