A replication-competent, endogenous retrovirus from an aged DBA/2 mouse contains the complete env from Emv-3 and a novel gag partially related to AKT-8.
We previously described an endogenous murine retrovirus, rv-DBA/2aged, isolated from an aged DBA/2 mouse. The previous report showed that a recombination which resulted in the replacement of Emv-3 gag sequences with gag sequences homologous to those found in the AKT-8 virus had taken place. This recombination allowed production of a competent virus from the defective Emv-3 locus. However, the extent of replacement of Emv-3 gag was not known. We report here the entire sequence for the gag gene of rv-DBA/2aged as well as the previously unsequenced 3' end of the Emv-3 gag gene. These data demonstrate that while sequences homologous to the entire gag gene fragment found in AKT-8 are represented in rv-DBA/2aged, the remainder of rv-DBA/2aged gag is not derived from Emv-3 but is a unique gag sequence. Furthermore, a complete comparison of env sequences shows that the env of rv-DBA/2aged is derived entirely from Emv-3. Additional data suggest that the recombination which led to production of the rv-DBA/2aged virus may be a common event in aging DBA/2 mice. Finally, comparison of the new sequences of Emv-3 with those of the Akv virus (also designated AKR-623 and Emv-11) and Emv-1 shows that this endogenous virus locus is very closely related to the other Emv loci at the nucleotide sequence level.
Bartman
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T
Graduate Program in Molecular Biology and Genetics, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19140, USA.
Murasko
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DM
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KJ
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D015752:Genes, env; D015750:Genes, gag; D051379:Mice; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA / Q000821:virology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D014779:Virus Replication
D017931:DNA Primers; D004279:DNA, Viral