This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hanger, J. J.
Right arrow Articles by Robinson, W. F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hanger, J. J.
Right arrow Articles by Robinson, W. F.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Virology, May 2000, p. 4264-4272, Vol. 74, No. 9
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

The Nucleotide Sequence of Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) Retrovirus: a Novel Type C Endogenous Virus Related to Gibbon Ape Leukemia Virus

Jon J. Hanger,1 Lindell D. Bromham,2 Jeff J. McKee,1,* Tracy M. O'Brien,1 and Wayne F. Robinson

Division of Veterinary Pathology and Anatomy1 and Department of Zoology,2 University of Queensland, 4072 Brisbane, Australia

Received 28 May 1999/Accepted 8 February 2000

A novel retrovirus, morphologically consistent with mammalian C-type retroviruses, was detected by electron microscopy in mitogen-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures from 163 koalas and in lymphoma tissue from 3 koalas. PCR amplified provirus from the blood and tissues of 17 wild and captive koalas, and reverse transcriptase-PCR demonstrated viral mRNA, viral genomic RNA, and reverse transcriptase activity in koala serum and cell culture supernatants. Comparison of viral sequences derived from genomic DNA and mRNA showed identity indicative of a single retroviral species---here designated koala retrovirus (KoRV). Southern blot analysis of koala tissue genomic DNA using labelled KoRV probes demonstrated banding consistent with an endogenous retrovirus. Complete and apparently truncated proviruses were detected in DNA of both clinically normal koalas and those with hematopoietic disease. KoRV-related viruses were not detected in other marsupials, and phylogenetic analysis showed that KoRV paradoxically clusters with gibbon ape leukemia virus (GALV). The strong similarity between GALV and KoRV suggests that these viruses are closely related and that recent cross-host transmission has occurred. The complete proviral DNA sequence of KoRV is reported.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Veterinary Pathology and Anatomy, University of Queensland, 4072 Brisbane, Australia. Phone: 61 7 33652118. Fax: 61 7 33651355. E-mail: j.mckee{at}mailbox.uq.edu.au.

Journal of Virology, May 2000, p. 4264-4272, Vol. 74, No. 9
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • LaMere, S. A., St. Leger, J. A., Schrenzel, M. D., Anthony, S. J., Rideout, B. A., Salomon, D. R. (2009). Molecular Characterization of a Novel Gammaretrovirus in Killer Whales (Orcinus orca). J. Virol. 83: 12956-12967 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wood, A., Webb, B. L. J., Bartosch, B., Schaller, T., Takeuchi, Y., Towers, G. J. (2009). Porcine endogenous retroviruses PERV A and A/C recombinant are insensitive to a range of divergent mammalian TRIM5{alpha} proteins including human TRIM5{alpha}. J. Gen. Virol. 90: 702-709 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Miller, A. D., Bergholz, U., Ziegler, M., Stocking, C. (2008). Identification of the Myelin Protein Plasmolipin as the Cell Entry Receptor for Mus caroli Endogenous Retrovirus. J. Virol. 82: 6862-6868 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Oliveira, N. M., Satija, H., Kouwenhoven, I. A., Eiden, M. V. (2007). Changes in viral protein function that accompany retroviral endogenization. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104: 17506-17511 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dong, B., Kim, S., Hong, S., Das Gupta, J., Malathi, K., Klein, E. A., Ganem, D., DeRisi, J. L., Chow, S. A., Silverman, R. H. (2007). From the Cover: An infectious retrovirus susceptible to an IFN antiviral pathway from human prostate tumors. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104: 1655-1660 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Fiebig, U., Hartmann, M. G., Bannert, N., Kurth, R., Denner, J. (2006). Transspecies transmission of the endogenous koala retrovirus.. J. Virol. 80: 5651-5654 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Stengel, A., Roos, C., Hunsmann, G., Seifarth, W., Leib-Mosch, C., Greenwood, A. D. (2006). Expression Profiles of Endogenous Retroviruses in Old World Monkeys. J. Virol. 80: 4415-4421 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Oliveira, N. M., Farrell, K. B., Eiden, M. V. (2006). In Vitro Characterization of a Koala Retrovirus. J. Virol. 80: 3104-3107 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Tarlinton, R., Meers, J., Hanger, J., Young, P. (2005). Real-time reverse transcriptase PCR for the endogenous koala retrovirus reveals an association between plasma viral load and neoplastic disease in koalas. J. Gen. Virol. 86: 783-787 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Klymiuk, N., Muller, M., Brem, G., Aigner, B. (2003). Characterization of Endogenous Retroviruses in Sheep. J. Virol. 77: 11268-11273 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bromham, L., Clark, F., McKee, J. J. (2001). Discovery of a Novel Murine Type C Retrovirus by Data Mining. J. Virol. 75: 3053-3057 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»