Degradation and remobilization of endogenous retroviruses by recombination during the earliest stages of a germ-line invasion

作者：Ulrike Löber, Matthew Hobbs, Anisha Dayaram, Kyriakos Tsangaras, Kiersten Jones, David E. Alquezar‐Planas, Yasuko Ishida, J. Meers, Jens Mayer, Claudia Quedenau, Wei Chen, Rebecca N. Johnson, Peter Timms, Paul R. Young, Alfred L. Roca, Alex D. Greenwood · 发表于：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 年份：2018 · DOI：10.1073/pnas.1807598115 · 被引用次数：68 · 研究领域：Chromosomal and Genetic Variations、CRISPR and Genetic Engineering、Plant tissue culture and regeneration

), permitting analysis of retroviral endogenization on a prospective basis. Here, we report that recombination with host genomic elements disrupts retroviruses during the earliest stages of germ-line invasion. One type of recombinant, designated recKoRV1, was formed by recombination of KoRV with an older degraded retroelement. Many genomic copies of recKoRV1 were detected across koalas. The prevalence of recKoRV1 was higher in northern than in southern Australian koalas, as is the case for KoRV, with differences in recKoRV1 prevalence, but not KoRV prevalence, between inland and coastal New South Wales. At least 15 additional different recombination events between KoRV and the older endogenous retroelement generated distinct recKoRVs with different geographic distributions. All of the identified recombinant viruses appear to have arisen independently and have highly disrupted ORFs, which suggests that recombination with existing degraded endogenous retroelements may be a means by which replication-competent ERVs that enter the germ line are degraded.