title: Surveys of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) in the freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni) suggest that ERVs in Crocodylus spp. vary between species.
abstract: Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are one of many families of transposable elements present in vertebrate genomes. We have examined the ERV complement of the freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni) in order to investigate the diversity of ERVs present and possibility of ERV or retroviral activity in a diseased individual of this species. Amplification and sequencing of the highly conserved retroviral pro-pol domains revealed high levels of sequence variation in these ERVs. Phylogenetic analyses of these ERVs and those previously identified in other crocodilian species suggest that although many crocodilians share the same ERV lineages, the relative numbers of retroelement insertions from each of these lineages may vary greatly between species. The data generated in this study provide evidence for the presence of a unique and varied complement of ERVs in crocodilians. This study has also demonstrated the presence of species-specific evolution in ancient retroviral infections.
authors: Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors: Amanda Y
authors: AY
authors: Chong
authors: Shannon R
authors: SR
authors: Kjeldsen
authors: Jaime
authors: J
authors: Gongora
mesh_terms: D000489:Alligators and Crocodiles / Q000821:virology*; D000818:Animals; D020077:Endogenous Retroviruses / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012192:Retroviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology
references: J Comput Biol. 1994 Spring;1(1):39-50
references: 8790452
references: J Virol. 2009 Oct;83(19):10305-8
references: 19605486
references: CSH Protoc. 2006 Jun 01;2006(1):null
references: 22485786
references: Mob DNA. 2012 Dec 05;3(1):20
references: 23217152
references: J Virol. 2002 May;76(9):4651-4
references: 11932432
references: Biotechniques. 1996 Apr;20(4):608-12
references: 8800679
references: Retrovirology. 2014 Dec 12;11:71
references: 25499090
references: Nucleic Acids Res. 2005 Jan 20;33(2):511-8
references: 15661851
references: Syst Biol. 2006 Aug;55(4):539-52
references: 16785212
references: J Virol. 1999 Mar;73(3):2442-9
references: 9971829
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996 May 28;93(11):5177-84
references: 8643549