title: Endogenous retrovirus HERV-I LTR family in primates: sequences, phylogeny, and evolution.
abstract: A human endogenous retrovirus (HERV-I; RTVL-I) has been located within the first intron of a haptoglobin-related gene. Two members of the HERV-I family were identified in proximal Yq11.2 and caused AZFa microdeletions as a result of intra-chromosomal recombination events in azoospermic patients. Using PCR25 and the sequencing approach with the genomic DNAs of primates, hominoids, Old and New World monkeys, and prosimians, the HERV-I LTR elements were identified and analysed. The LTR elements were detected only in the hominoids and the Old World monkeys, indicating that the HERV-I LTR elements were inserted into the primate genome after the split of the New World monkeys in the Oligocene era, about 33 million years ago. Nineteen members of the HERV-I LTR elements from the hominoids and the Old World monkeys showed multiple insertions or deletions. They showed a 78.6-97.4% sequence similarity to that of Hu-15 (accession no. AF290422; HERV-I LTR on human Yq11.2). The evolutionary relationships within the HERV-I LTR family among hominoids and Old World monkeys showed a random cluster, indicating that HERV-I LTR elements have evolved independently in primate evolution.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: J-W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: H-S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002520:Cercopithecidae / Q000821:virology; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020077:Endogenous Retroviruses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005701:Galago / Q000821:virology; D015186:Hominidae / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007900:Lemur / Q000821:virology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D051078:Platyrrhini / Q000821:virology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018419:Primate Diseases / Q000821:virology; D011323:Primates / Q000821:virology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D020079:Terminal Repeat Sequences / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral