A zebrafish reporter line reveals immune and neuronal expression of endogenous retrovirus

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are fossils left in our genome from retrovirus infections of the past. Their sequences are part of every vertebrate genome and their random integrations are thought to have contributed to evolution. Although ERVs are mainly kept silenced by the host genome, they are fo...

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Published inbioRxiv
Main Authors Rutherford, Holly A, Clarke, Amy, Chambers, Emily V, Petts, Jessica J, Carson, Euan G, Isles, Hannah, Duque-Jaramillo, Alejandra, Renshaw, Stephen A, Levraud, Jean-Pierre, Hamilton, Noemie
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 13.12.2021
Subjects
Conflicts of interest
Danio rerio
Flow cytometry
Genomes
Inflammatory diseases
Leukodystrophy
Light microscopy
Lymphocytes T
Neuroimaging
Neurological diseases
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Summary:Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are fossils left in our genome from retrovirus infections of the past. Their sequences are part of every vertebrate genome and their random integrations are thought to have contributed to evolution. Although ERVs are mainly kept silenced by the host genome, they are found activated in multiple disease states such as auto-inflammatory disorders and neurological diseases. What makes defining their role in health and diseases challenging is the numerous copies in mammalian genomes and the lack of tools to study them. In this study, we identified 8 copies of the zebrafish endogenous retrovirus (zferv). We created and characterised the first reporter line for an ERV. Using a combination of live imaging, flow cytometry and single cell RNA sequencing, we mapped zferv expression to early T cells and neurons. Thus, this new tool identified tissues expressing ERV in zebrafish, highlighting a potential role of ERV during brain development and strengthening the hypothesis that ERV play a role in immunity and neurological diseases. This transgenic line is therefore a suitable tool to study the function of ERV in health and diseases. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Footnotes * We have provided a better characterisation of our novel transgenic line following reviewers comments, alongside a revised analysis of single cell RNA seq and a more complete expression pattern by in situ analysis. The main message of the paper has not changed.
DOI:10.1101/2021.01.21.427598