title: Distinct subsets of retroviruses encode dUTPase.
abstract: The nonprimate lentiviruses feline immunodeficiency virus, equine infectious anemia virus, visna virus, and caprine encephalitis virus contain a gene segment in the polymerase gene that is lacking in the primate lentiviruses. A related sequence has been noted in other retroviruses, most notably the type D retroviruses. Computer searches have indicated a relatedness between this unique gene segment, termed proteaselike element and elements of both the aspartate proteinase and the dUTPase enzyme families. In this report, we show that members of both nonprimate lentiviruses and type D retroviruses possess dUTPase activity and present a formal demonstration that in feline immunodeficiency virus, the activity is encoded by the proteaselike element.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Elder
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Lerner
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Hasselkus-Light
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Fontenot
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Luciw
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Montelaro
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Phillips
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015684:Gene Products, pol / Q000378:metabolism*; D016089:Immunodeficiency Virus, Feline / Q000201:enzymology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011755:Pyrophosphatases / Q000235:genetics*; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D015684:Gene Products, pol; D011755:Pyrophosphatases; C020020:dUTP pyrophosphatase