| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3428026 | Virus Research | 2015 | 5 Pages |
•MMTV gag and LTR viral elements were absent from the European rabbit genome.•A nearly complete MMTV-like virus (Pika-BERV) was identified in American pika genome.•Pika-BERV was estimated to have invaded American pika genome around 3–7 Mya.•We found evidence of Pika-BERV similar sequences endogenized in different Ochotona sp.•Shared but also independent insertions of EBVs were observed in Ochotona sp. genomes.
Despite the finding in European rabbit and other leporid genomes of the first ever described endogenous lentivirus and of a European rabbit exclusive endogenous gammaretrovirus, until now no exogenous retroviruses have been isolated in Lagomorpha species. Nevertheless, looking for the presence of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) in the species genomes could lead to the discovery of retroviral lineages yet to be found in Lagomorpha.Different mammalian genomes harbor endogenous viral sequences phylogenetically close to the betaretrovirus mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV), propelling us to look for such retroviral “fossil” in American pika (Ochotona princeps) and European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) genomes. By performing genomic mining using MMTV gag and LTR as query sequences, we found that such viral elements were absent from the European rabbit genome. Oppositely, significant matches were found in American pika, and more importantly, a nearly complete MMTV-like virus (Pika-BERV) was identified.Using Pika-BERV gag and LTR as templates, we found similar sequences endogenized in different pika (Ochotona sp.) species. The orthology of the LTR flanking region between some pika species supported shared ancestry of specific endogenous betaretroviruses, while in other pika species similar sequences, but not orthologous, should have resulted from independent insertions.Our study supports the possible existence of infecting exogenous betaretroviruses for a long term, after the divergence of Ochotonidae from Leporidae, but yet to be identified.
