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Journal of Virology, November 2003, p. 12363-12368, Vol. 77, No. 22
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JVI.77.22.12363-12368.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Relative Age of Proviral Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus Sequences in Sus scrofa Based on the Molecular Clock Hypothesis

Ralf R. Tönjes1* and Marcus Niebert2

Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, D-63225 Langen,1 Robert Koch-Institut, D-13353 Berlin, Germany2

Received 17 June 2003/ Accepted 10 August 2003

Porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERV) are discussed as putative infectious agents in xenotransplantation. PERV classes A, B, and C harbor different envelope proteins. Two different types of long terminal repeat (LTR) structures exist, of which both are present only in PERV-A. One type of LTR contains a distinct repeat structure in U3, while the other is repeatless, conferring a lower level of transcriptional activity. Since the different LTR structures are distributed unequally among the proviruses and, apparently, PERV is the only virus harboring two different LTR structures, we were interested in determining which LTR is the ancestor. Replication-competent viruses can still be found today, suggesting an evolutionary recent origin. Our studies revealed that the age of PERV is at most 7.6 x 106 years, whereas the repeatless LTR type evolved approximately 3.4 x 106 years ago, being the phylogenetically younger structure. The age determined for PERV correlates with the time of separation between pigs (Suidae, Sus scrofa) and their closest relatives, American-born peccaries (Tayassuidae, Pecari tajacu), 7.4 x 106 years ago.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Paul-Ehrlich-Strasse 51-59, D-63225 Langen, Germany. Phone: 49 6103 774010. Fax: 49 6103 771255. E-mail: toera{at}pei.de.

Journal of Virology, November 2003, p. 12363-12368, Vol. 77, No. 22
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JVI.77.22.12363-12368.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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