Abstract
BackgroundThe interaction between viruses and their receptors in the host can be expected to lead to an evolutionary arms race resulting in cycles of rapid adaptations. We focus here on the receptor gene Xpr1 (xenotropic and polytropic retrovirus receptor 1) for murine leukemia viruses (MLVs). In a previous screen for selective sweeps in mouse populations we discovered that a population from Germany was almost monomorphic for Xpr1 haplotypes, while a population from France was polymorphic.ResultsHere we analyze Xpr1 sequences and haplotypes from a broad sample of wild mouse populations of two subspecies, M. m. domesticus and M. m. musculus, to trace the origins of this distinctive polymorphism pattern. We show that the high polymorphism in the population in France is caused by a relatively recent invasion of a haplotype from a population in Iran, rather than a selective sweep in Germany. The invading haplotype codes for a novel receptor variant, which has itself undergone a recent selective sweep in the Iranian population.ConclusionsOur data support a scenario in which Xpr1 is frequently subject to positive selection, possibly as a response to resistance development against recurrently emerging infectious viruses. During such an infection cycle, receptor variants that may convey viral resistance can be captured from another population and quickly introgress into populations actively dealing with the infectious virus.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0528-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The interaction between viruses and their receptors in the host can be expected to lead to an evolutionary arms race resulting in cycles of rapid adaptations
We propose a scenario of frequent selective sweeps in xenotropic and polytropic retrovirus receptor 1 (Xpr1), possibly due to an ongoing co-evolution between receptor variants and bursts of infections, complemented by an introgression of receptor variants that convey resistance from other populations
Haplotype variation of Xpr1 in wild mouse populations To assess the allelic variation of Xpr1 at the population level in the wild, we analyzed sequence polymorphisms of Xpr1 from 11 house mouse populations (Table 1) and three related sub-species and species (M. m. castaneus, M. spretus and M. spicilegus)
Summary
The interaction between viruses and their receptors in the host can be expected to lead to an evolutionary arms race resulting in cycles of rapid adaptations. We focus here on the receptor gene Xpr (xenotropic and polytropic retrovirus receptor 1) for murine leukemia viruses (MLVs). Murine leukemia viruses (MLVs) are extensively analyzed pathogens in mammals [31] They were mostly studied in mice including analyses of their main receptor Xpr (xenotropic and polytropic retrovirus receptor 1) [7, 29, 53, 61]. The gene encodes a cellsurface receptor with eight annotated transmembrane domains which result in four extracellular loops (ECL) [53]. It belongs to the group of G protein-coupled receptors and has been shown to function in the export of inorganic phosphate [18]. MLVs can cause leukemia and lymphomas, but their pathogenicity is highly variable and dependent on virus strain and host background
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