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Article
Genomically Intact Endogenous Feline Leukemia Viruses of Recent Origin
Journal of Virology
  • Alfred L. Roca, National Cancer Institute at Frederick
  • Jill Pecon-Slattery, National Cancer Institute at Frederick
  • Stephen J. O'Brien, National Cancer Institute at Frederick
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-1-2004
Abstract

We isolated and sequenced two complete endogenous feline leukemia viruses (enFeLVs), designated enFeLV-AGTT and enFeLV-GGAG. In enFeLV-AGTT, the open reading frames are reminiscent of a functioning FeLV genome, and the 5′ and 3′ long terminal repeat sequences are identical. Neither endogenous provirus is genetically fixed in cats but polymorphic, with 8.9 and 15.2% prevalence for enFeLV-AGTT and enFeLV-GGAG, respectively, among a survey of domestic cats. Neither provirus was found in the genomes of related species of the Felis genus, previously shown to harbor enFeLVs. The absence of mutational divergence, polymorphic incidence in cats, and absence in related species suggest that these enFeLVs may have entered the germ line more recently than previously believed, perhaps coincident with domestication, and reopens the question of whether some enFeLVs might be replication competent.

Comments

©2004 by the American Society for Microbiology

Additional Comments
National Cancer Institute contract #: N01-CO-12400; GenBank accession #s: AY364318-AY364319
ORCID ID
0000-0001-7353-8301
ResearcherID
N-1726-2015
Citation Information
Alfred L. Roca, Jill Pecon-Slattery and Stephen J. O'Brien. "Genomically Intact Endogenous Feline Leukemia Viruses of Recent Origin" Journal of Virology Vol. 78 Iss. 8 (2004) p. 4370 - 4375 ISSN: 0022-538X
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/stephen-obrien/339/