Ancestral Mutations Acquired in Refrex-1, a Restriction Factor against Feline Retroviruses, during its Cooption and Domestication

• Published in: Journal of virology Vol. 90; no. 3; pp. 1470 - 1485
• Main Authors: Ito, Jumpei, Baba, Takuya, Kawasaki, Junna, Nishigaki, Kazuo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society for Microbiology 01.02.2016
• Subjects: Animals; Cats; Endogenous Retroviruses - immunology; Feline leukemia virus; Gene Expression Profiling; Genetic Diversity and Evolution; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Leukemia Virus, Feline - immunology; Molecular Sequence Data; Mutant Proteins - genetics; Mutant Proteins - metabolism; Retrovirus; Reverse Genetics; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Viral Envelope Proteins - genetics; Viral Envelope Proteins - metabolism; Virus Assembly; Virus Replication

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are remnants of ancestral retroviral infections of germ cells. Retroviral endogenization is an adaptation process for the host genome, and ERVs are gradually attenuated or inactivated by mutation. However, some ERVs that have been “domesticated” by their hosts eventual...