Abstract
Background Endogenous retroviruses are genetic parasites of mammalian genomes. They are « remnants » of ancestral infections by retroviruses that had integrated into the germ line of the host and were then transmitted vertically, in a Mendelian fashion. Studies of several endogenous retrovirus families have led to the identification of functional elements, able to replicate inside the host. Whereas some endogenous retroviruses behave as bona fide retroviruses, with a replicative cycle involving extracellular viral particles, some of them disclose a strictly intracellular amplification cycle with viral particles accumulating in the cytoplasm or in intracellular organelles.
Highlights
Endogenous retroviruses are genetic parasites of mammalian genomes
Whereas some endogenous retroviruses behave as bona fide retroviruses, with a replicative cycle involving extracellular viral particles, some of them disclose a strictly intracellular amplification cycle with viral particles accumulating in the cytoplasm or in intracellular organelles
We were able to convert a ''classical'' endogenous retrovirus, named IAPE, into a functional ''intracellularized'' element by modifying its N-terminal Gag domain (Fig. 1A and 1B). This modified element gained the ability to efficiently amplify via a strictly intracellular cycle (Fig. 1C). These results led us to propose a scenario that accounts for the generation, during evolution, of very successful intracellular genetic parasites from ancient retroviruses
Summary
Endogenous retroviruses are genetic parasites of mammalian genomes. They are « remnants » of ancestral infections by retroviruses that had integrated into the germ line of the host and were transmitted vertically, in a Mendelian fashion. Emergence of intracellular genetic parasites from ancient retroviruses * Corresponding author from Frontiers of Retrovirology: Complex retroviruses, retroelements and their hosts Montpellier, France.
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