Conservation and loss of the ERV3 open reading frame in primates

The human endogenous retrovirus ERV3 possesses an open reading frame for a truncated envelope, which is expressed as mRNA and protein. Here we examine the env sequence in primates for evidence of evolutionary conservation. ERV3 sequences were amplified by PCR from genomic DNA of great ape and Old Wo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Genomics (San Diego, Calif.) Vol. 83; no. 5; pp. 940 - 943
Main Authors:	Hervé, C.A, Forrest, G, Löwer, R, Griffiths, D.J, Venables, P.J.W
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	San Diego, CA Elsevier Inc 01-05-2004 Elsevier
Subjects:	Amino Acid Sequence Animals Apes Biological and medical sciences Conserved Sequence - genetics Conserved sequences Endogenous Retroviruses - genetics ERV3 Evolution, Molecular Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Genes. Genome Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution Gorilla Gorilla gorilla HERV-R Human endogenous retrovirus 3 Humans Molecular and cellular biology Molecular genetics Molecular Sequence Data Open Reading Frames - genetics ORF Primates Primates - genetics Retrovirus Viral Envelope Proteins - chemistry Viral Envelope Proteins - genetics Retrovirus Apes ORF Conserved sequences Primates HERV-R ERV3 Gorilla Genomics Conservation Open reading frame Vertebrata Mammalia
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Summary:	The human endogenous retrovirus ERV3 possesses an open reading frame for a truncated envelope, which is expressed as mRNA and protein. Here we examine the env sequence in primates for evidence of evolutionary conservation. ERV3 sequences were amplified by PCR from genomic DNA of great ape and Old World primates but not from New World primates or gorilla, suggesting an integration event more than 30 million years ago with a subsequent loss in one species. In the chimpanzee, the protein sequence of Env is 98.18% identical to that of human. In other species the identity falls (93.71% in rhesus macaque) in proportion to the separation from the human lineage. Start and stop codons and domains of functional significance in the envelope protein are conserved. The evolutionary conservation of the ERV3 envelope suggests a beneficial function, though the loss from gorilla shows that it is not essential for survival or reproduction.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2
ISSN:	0888-7543 1089-8646
DOI:	10.1016/j.ygeno.2003.10.003