Vertebrate Viruses Research Articles

Phylogenetic analysis of novel posaviruses detected in feces of Japanese pigs with posaviruses and posa-like viruses of vertebrates and invertebrates.

Posaviruses and posa-like viruses are unclassified viruses with sequence similarity to viruses of the order Picornavirales. They have been reported in various vertebrates and invertebrates. We identified 11 posavirus-like sequences in porcine feces and performed phylogenic analysis. Previously reported Japanese posaviruses and those identified in this study clustered with posavirus 1, 4, and 7 and husavirus 1, while five viruses branched into three independent lineages, tentatively named posavirus 10, 11, and 12. Interestingly, posaviruses, except for posavirus 8 and 9, husaviruses, and rasaviruses, formed a cluster consisting of viruses only from pigs, humans, and rats, while posavirus 8 and 9, fisavirus, and basaviruses clustered with posa-like viruses from invertebrates.

A Novel Orthohepadnavirus Identified in a Dead Maxwell's Duiker (Philantomba maxwellii) in Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire.

New technologies enable viral discovery in a diversity of hosts, providing insights into viral evolution. We used one such approach, the virome capture sequencing for vertebrate viruses (VirCapSeq-VERT) platform, on 21 samples originating from six dead Maxwell’s duikers (Philantomba maxwellii) from Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire. We detected the presence of an orthohepadnavirus in one animal and characterized its 3128 bp genome. The highest viral copy numbers were detected in the spleen, followed by the lung, blood, and liver, with the lowest copy numbers in the kidney and heart; the virus was not detected in the jejunum. Viral copy numbers in the blood were in the range known from humans with active chronic infections leading to liver histolytic damage, suggesting this virus could be pathogenic in duikers, though many orthohepadnaviruses appear to be apathogenic in other hosts, precluding a formal test of this hypothesis. The virus was not detected in 29 other dead duiker samples from the Côte d’Ivoire and Central African Republic, suggesting either a spillover event or a low prevalence in these populations. Phylogenetic analysis placed the virus as a divergent member of the mammalian clade of orthohepadnaviruses, though its relationship to other orthohepadnaviruses remains uncertain. This represents the first orthohepadnavirus described in an artiodactyl. We have tentatively named this new member of the genus Orthohepadnavirus (family Hepadnaviridae), Taï Forest hepadnavirus. Further studies are needed to determine whether it, or some close relatives, are present in a broader range of artiodactyls, including livestock.

The fecal virome of red-crowned cranes

The red-crowned crane is one of the rarest crane species, and its population is decreasing due to loss of habitat, poisoning, and infections. Using a viral metagenomics approach, we analyzed the virome of feces from wild and captive red-crowned cranes, which were pooled separately. Vertebrate viruses belonging to the families Picornaviridae, Parvoviridae, Circoviridae, and Caliciviridae were detected. Among the members of the family Picornaviridae, we found three that appear to represent new genera. Six nearly complete genomes from members of the family Parvoviridae were also obtained, including four new members of the proposed genus “Chapparvovirus”, and two members of the genus Aveparvovirus. Six small circular DNA genomes were also characterized. One nearly complete genome showing a low level of sequence identity to caliciviruses was also characterized. Numerous viruses believed to infect insects, plants, and crustaceans were also identified, which were probably derived from the diet of red-crowned cranes. This study increases our understanding of the enteric virome of red-crowned cranes and provides a baseline for comparison to those of other birds or following disease outbreaks.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00705-018-4037-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Expanding Diversity of RNA Viruses in Vertebrates

The diversity of RNA viruses in vertebrates remains largely unexplored. The discovery of 214 novel vertebrate-associated RNA viruses will likely help us to understand the diversity and evolution of RNA viruses in vertebrates.

Prevalence of fecal viruses and bacteriophage in Canadian farmed mink (Neovison vison).

Recent viral metagenomic studies have demonstrated the diversity of eukaryotic viruses and bacteriophage shed in the feces of domestic species. Although enteric disease is a major concern in the commercial mink farming industry, few etiologic agents have been well characterized. This study aimed to identify viruses shed in the fecal matter of clinically healthy commercial mink from 40 southern Ontario farms. Viral RNA was extracted from 67 pooled fecal samples (30 adult female mink and 37 kit) and amplified for Illumina sequencing on the NextSeq platform, and the resulting contigs were trimmed and assembled using Trimmomatic 0.36.0 and Spades 3.8.0 in iVirus (CyVerse, AZ, USA) and SeqMan NGen 12 (DNAStar, WI, USA). Identification of assembled sequences >100 bp (Geneious 10.1.3) showed an abundance of bacteriophage sequences, mainly from families Siphoviridae (53%), Podoviridae (22%), Myoviridae (20%), Inoviridae (1%), Leviviridae (0.04%), Tectiviridae (0.01%), and Microviridae (0.01%). A diverse range of vertebrate viruses were detected, of which posavirus 3, mink bocavirus, gyroviruses, and avian‐associated viruses were most abundant. Additionally, sequences from nonvertebrate viruses with water and soil‐associated amebal and algal hosts were also highly prevalent. The results of this study show that viruses shed in the fecal matter of healthy commercial mink are highly diverse and could be closely associated with diet, and that more research is necessary to determine how the detected viruses may impact mink health.

Activation of an Aquareovirus, Chum Salmon Reovirus (CSV), by the Ciliates Tetrahymena thermophila and T.canadensis.

For the first time, ciliates have been found to activate rather than inactivate a virus, chum salmon reovirus (CSV). Activation was seen as an increase in viral titre upon incubation of CSV at 22°C with Tetrahymena canadenesis and two strains of T.thermophila: wild type (B1975) and a temperature conditional mutant for phagocytosis (NP1). The titre increase was not likely due to replication because CSV had no visible effects on the ciliates and no vertebrate virus has ever been shown unequivocally to replicate in ciliates. When incubated with B1975 and NP1 at 30°C, CSV was activated only by B1975. Therefore, activation required CSV internalization because at 30°C only B1975 exhibited phagocytosis. CSV replicated in fish cells at 18 to 26°C but not at 30°C. Collectively, these observations point to CSV activation being distinct from replication. Activation is attributed to the CSV capsid being modified in the ciliate phagosomal-lysosomal system and released in a more infectious form. When allowed to swim in CSV-infected fish cell cultures, collected, washed, and transferred to uninfected cultures, T.canadensis caused a CSV infection. Overall the results suggest that ciliates could have roles in the environmental dissemination of some fish viral diseases.

Metagenomic Virome Analysis of Culex Mosquitoes from Kenya and China.

Many blood-feeding arthropods are known vectors of viruses that are a source of unprecedented global health concern. Mosquitoes are an integral part of these arthropod vectors. Advancements in next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics has expanded our knowledge on the richness of viruses harbored by arthropods. In the present study, we applied a metagenomic approach to determine the intercontinental virome diversity of Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex tritaeniorhynchus in Kwale, Kenya and provinces of Hubei and Yunnan in China. Our results showed that viromes from the three locations were strikingly diverse and comprised 30 virus families specific to vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and protozoa as well as unclassified group of viruses. Though sampled at different times, both Kwale and Hubei mosquito viromes were dominated by vertebrate viruses, in contrast to the Yunnan mosquito virome, which was dominated by insect-specific viruses. However, each virome was unique in terms of virus proportions partly influenced by type of ingested meals (blood, nectar, plant sap, environment substrates). The dominant vertebrate virus family in the Kwale virome was Papillomaviridae (57%) while in Hubei it was Herpesviridae (30%) and the Yunnan virome was dominated by an unclassified viruses group (27%). Given that insect-specific viruses occur naturally in their hosts, they should be the basis for defining the viromes. Hence, the dominant insect-specific viruses in Kwale, Hubei, and Yunnan were Baculoviridae, Nimaviridae and Iflaviridae, respectively. Our study is preliminary but contributes to growing and much needed knowledge, as mosquito viromes could be manipulated to prevent and control pathogenic arboviruses.

Evaluating the Importance of Environmental Persistence for Ranavirus Transmission and Epidemiology.

Viruses persist outside their hosts in a variety of forms, from naked virions to virus protected in sloughed tissues or carcasses, and for a range of times, all of which affect the likelihood and importance of transmission from the environment. This review synthesizes the literature on environmental persistence of viruses in the genus Ranavirus (family Iridoviridae), which are large double-stranded DNA viruses of ectothermic, often aquatic or semiaquatic vertebrates. Ranaviruses have been associated with mass mortality events in natural and captive settings around the world, and with population and community-wide declines in Europe. Early work suggested ranaviruses are environmentally robust and transmission from the environment should be common. More recent work has shown a large effect of temperature and microbial action on persistence times, although other aspects of the environment (e.g., water chemistry) and aquatic communities (e.g., zooplankton) may also be important. Ranaviruses may persist in the carcasses of animals that have died of infection, and so decomposing organisms and invertebrate scavengers may reduce these persistence times. The question is, do persistence times vary enough to promote or preclude substantial transmission from the environment. We built an epidemiological model with transmission from contacts, free virus in water, and carcasses, to explore the conditions in which environmental persistence could be important for ranavirus epidemiology. Based on prior work, we expected a substantial amount of transmission from the water and that longer persistence times would make this route of transmission dominant. However, neither water-borne nor transmission from carcasses played an important role in the simulated epidemics except under fairly restrictive conditions, such as when there were high rates of virus shedding or high rates of scavenging on highly infectious carcasses. While many aspects of environmental persistence of ranaviruses are being resolved by experiments, key parameters such as viral shedding rates are virtually unknown and will need to be empirically constrained if we are to determine whether environmental persistence and transmission from the environment are essential or insignificant features of Ranavirus epidemiology. We conclude by emphasizing the need to place environmental persistence research in an epidemiological framework.

Virome Analysis Reveals No Association of Head and Neck Vascular Anomalies with an Active Viral Infection.

Vascular anomalies encompass different vascular malformations [arteriovenous (AVM), lymphatic (LM), venous lymphatic (VLM), venous (VM)] and vascular tumors such as hemangiomas (HA). The pathogenesis of vascular anomalies is still poorly understood. Viral infection was speculated as a possible underlying cause. A total of 13 human vascular anomalies and three human skin control tissues were used for viral analysis. RNA derived from AVM (n=4) and normal skin control (n=3) tissues was evaluated by RNA sequencing. The Virome Capture Sequencing Platform for Vertebrate Viruses (VirCapSeq-VERT) was deployed on 10 tissues with vascular anomalies (2×AVM, 1×HA, 1×LM, 2×VLM, 4×VM). RNA sequencing did not show any correlation of AVM with viral infection. By deploying VirCapSeq-VERT, no consistent viral association was seen in the tested tissues. The analysis does not point to the presence of an active viral infection in vascular anomalies. However, transient earlier viral infections, e.g. during pregnancy, cannot be excluded with this approach.

Viral diversity and abundance in polluted waters in Kampala, Uganda

Waterborne viruses are a significant cause of human disease, especially in developing countries such as Uganda. A total of 15 virus-selective samples were collected at five sites (Bugolobi Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) influent and effluent, Nakivubo Channel upstream and downstream of the WWTP, and Nakivubo Swamp) in July and August 2016. Quantitative PCR and quantitative RT-PCR was performed to determine the concentrations of four human viruses (adenovirus, enterovirus, rotavirus, and hepatitis A virus) in the samples. Adenovirus (1.53*105-1.98*107 copies/L) and enterovirus (3.17*105-8.13*107 copies/L) were found to have the highest concentrations in the samples compared to rotavirus (5.79*101-3.77*103 copies/L) and hepatitis A virus (9.93*102-1.11*104 copies/L). In addition, next-generation sequencing and metagenomic analyses were performed to assess viral diversity, and several human and vertebrate viruses were detected, including Herpesvirales, Iridoviridae, Poxviridae, Circoviridae, Parvoviridae, Bunyaviridae and others. Effluent from the wastewater treatment plant appears to impact surface water, as samples taken from surface water downstream of the treatment plant had higher viral concentrations than samples taken upstream. Temporal fluctuations in viral abundance and diversity were also observed. Continuous monitoring of wastewater may contribute to assessing viral disease patterns at a population level and provide early warning of potential outbreaks using wastewater-based epidemiology methods.

CG dinucleotide suppression enables antiviral defence targeting non-self RNA.

Vertebrate genomes exhibit marked CG-suppression, that is lower than expected numbers of 5′-CG-3′ dinucleotides1. This feature is likely due to C-to-T mutations that have accumulated over hundreds of millions of years, driven by CG-specific DNA methyl transferases and spontaneous methyl-cytosine deamination. Remarkably, many RNA viruses of vertebrates that are not substrates for DNA methyl transferases mimic the CG-suppression of their hosts2–4. This striking property of viral genomes is unexplained4–6. In a synonymous mutagenesis experiment, we found that CG-suppression is essential for HIV-1 replication. The deleterious effect of CG dinucleotides on HIV-1 replication was cumulative, evident as cytoplasmic RNA depletion, and exerted by CG dinucleotides in both translated and non-translated exonic RNA sequences. A focused siRNA screen revealed that zinc finger antiviral protein (ZAP)7 inhibited virion production by cells infected with CG-enriched HIV-1. Crucially, HIV-1 mutants containing segments whose CG-content mimicked random sequence were defective in unmanipulated cells, but replicated normally in ZAP-deficient cells. Crosslinking-immunoprecipitation-sequencing assays demonstrated that ZAP binds directly and selectively to RNA sequences containing CG dinucleotides. These findings suggest that ZAP exploits host CG-suppression to discriminate non-self RNA. The dinucleotide composition of HIV-1, and perhaps other RNA viruses, appears to have adapted to evade this host defense.

Virome analysis for identification of novel mammalian viruses in bats from Southeast China

Bats have been shown as important mammal resevoirs to carry a variety of zoonotic pathogens. To analyze pathogenic species in bats from southeast coastal regions of China, we performed metagenomic sequencing technology for high throughput sequencing of six sentinels from southeast coastal area of China. We obtained 5,990,261 high quality reads from intestine and lung tissue of 235 bats, including 2,975,371 assembled sequences. 631,490 reads predicted overlapping sequences for the open reading frame (ORF), which accounts for 2.37% of all the sequences (15,012/631,490). Further, the acquired virus sequences were classified into 25 viral families, including 16 vertebrate viruses, four plant viruses and five insect viruses. All bat samples were screened by specific PCR and phylogenetic analysis. Using these techniques, we discovered many novel bat viruses and some bat viruses closely-related to known human/animal pathogens, including coronavirus, norovirus, adenovirus, bocavirus, astrovirus, and circovirus. In summary, this study extended our understanding of bats as the viral reservoirs. Additionally, it also provides a basis for furher studying the transmission of viruses from bats to humans.

Ranaviruses and other members of the family Iridoviridae: Their place in the virosphere

Members of the family Iridoviridae, collectively referred to as iridovirids, are large, double-stranded DNA-containing viruses that infect invertebrates and cold-blooded (ectothermic) vertebrates. Infections in the former often lead to massive levels of virus replication resulting in iridescence of the infected animal and ultimately death. Among the latter, infections target a variety of organs and are capable of causing high levels of morbidity and mortality among commercially and ecologically important fish and amphibian species. The viral replication strategy has been elucidated primarily through the study of frog virus 3 (FV3) with additional input from other iridovirids of ecological or commercial importance. Replication occurs within both nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments and involves synthesis of genome length and concatemeric DNA, extensive methylation of the viral genome (among vertebrate viruses only), coordinate expression of three classes of viral gene products, and formation of icosahedral virions within cytoplasmic viral assembly sites. Phylogenetic analyses delineate five genera within the family and suggest that members of the families Iridoviridae, Ascoviridae, and Marseilleviridae compromise a monophyletic lineage in which ascoviruses are most closely related to invertebrate iridoviruses.

Таксономічна характеристика РНК-геномних вірусів хребетних тварин і людини

The article presents a modern taxonomy and nomenclature of viruses of vertebrates animals and human based on information ICTV release 2016 (ratification 2017). Described the basic criteria for the classification of viruses: characteristics of the viral genome, the mechanism of replication and virions structure. Viruses of vertebrates (1269 species) consist of 5 orders, 38 families, including 12 – DNA-genomic and 26 – RNA-genomic, 12 subfamilies and 233 genera. RNA-genomic viruses of vertebrates (679 species) classified of 4 orders, 26 families, 6 subfamilies and 119 genera. The order Mononegavirales has united family Paramyxoviridae, Pneumoviridae, Rhabdoviridae, Filoviridae, Bornaviridae, Nyamiviridae and Sunviridae, order Nidovirales – family Coronaviridae and Arteriviridae, order Bunyavirales –family Hantaviridae, Nairoviridae, Peribunyaviridae and Phenuiviridae, order Picornavirales – family Picornaviridae. Family Rhabdoviridae, Nodaviridae, Peribunyaviridae, Phenuiviridae, Reoviridae and Birnaviridae, except viruses of vertebrates, contain viruses of insects, and family Rhabdoviridae, Phenuiviridae and Reoviridae – viruses of plants. There is а one of «floating» genus Deltavirus, which is not included of families. The family Reoviridae includes the Eriocheir sinensis reovirus, and the family Birnaviridae – Tellina virus. Described the taxa of viruses: family, subfamily, genera, species. Named typical species genera of viruses. Characterized the basic taxonomic features of RNA-genomic vertebrates viruses of animals and human: the shape, size and structure of virions – the presence of outer membrane lipoprotein, capsid symmetry type (spiral, icosahedral), the structure of the viral RNA (the number of threads, conformation, fragmentation, polarity). The attention to virus reproduction features. Replication of most RNA-genomic viruses occurs in cells of the cytoplasm, except for the representatives of the families Bornaviridae, Nyamiviridae, Orthomyxoviridae, Retroviridae and «floating» genus Deltavirus, which are replicated in the nucleus. Output of the progeny virions in simply organized viruses is due to cell destruction, and in most of the complexly organized viruses – plasma membrane buds, as well as through the membranes of the Golgi complex or the endoplasmic net in combination with exocytosis (Peribunyaviridae, Hantaviridae, Nairoviridae, Phenuiviridae, Flaviviridae, Coronaviridae, Arteriviridae).

Leeches as a source of mammalian viral DNA and RNA—a study in medicinal leeches

Surveillance of wild vertebrates can be challenging in remote and inaccessible areas such as tropical rainforests. Blood-feeding parasites, such as leeches, can facilitate wild vertebrate monitoring by targeting residual DNA from the animals the leeches feed on. Successes in detecting host DNA from leeches suggest that host viruses may also be detectable. To systematically test this hypothesis, we performed a proof of concept study using quantitative PCR (qPCR) to detect DNA viruses (bovine herpesvirus [BHV], human adenovirus [HAdV]) and RNA viruses (influenza A [InfA] and measles morbillivirus [MeV]) from nucleic acids extracted from medicinal leeches fed with blood spiked with each virus. All viruses except BHV showed a gradual decline in concentration from day 1 to 50, and all except BHV were detectable in at least half of the samples even after 50 days. BHV exhibited a rapid decline at day 27 and was undetectable at day 50. Our findings in medicinal leeches indicate that leeches collected in the wild might be an untapped resource for detecting vertebrate viruses and could provide new opportunities to study wildlife viral diseases of rare species in challenging environments, where capturing and handling of animals is difficult.

The role of type I interferons in innate and adaptive immunity against viruses in Atlantic salmon

Type I IFNs (IFN-I) are cytokines, which play a crucial role in innate and adaptive immunity against viruses of vertebrates. In essence, IFN-I are induced and secreted upon host cell recognition of viral nucleic acids and protect other cells against infection by inducing antiviral proteins. Atlantic salmon possesses an extraordinary repertoire of IFN-I genes encompassing at least six different classes (IFNa, IFNb, IFNc, IFNd, IFNe and IFNf) most of which are encoded by several genes. This review describes recent research on the functions of salmon IFNa, IFNb, IFNc and IFNd. As in mammals, expression of different salmon IFN-I in response to virus infection is dependent on their promoters, properties of the virus and the cell's expression of nucleic acid receptors and interferon regulatory factors (IRFs). While IFNa mainly display local antiviral activity, IFNb and IFNc show systemic antiviral activity. In addition, salmon appears to possess several IFN-I receptors, which show selectivity in binding different IFN-I. This complexity in IFN-I and receptors allows for a large variation in functions of the salmon IFN-I. Studies with intramuscular injection of IFN expression plasmids have recently provided surprising results, which may be of relevance for application of IFN-I in prophylaxis against virus infection. Firstly, injection of IFNc plasmid protected salmon presmolts against virus infection for at least 10 weeks. Secondly, IFN plasmids showed potent adjuvant activity when injected together with a DNA vaccine against infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV).

Tick-borne viruses.

Tick-borne viruses (TBVs) belong to the largest biological group known as arboviruses with unique mode of transmission by blood-feeding arthropods (ticks, mosquitoes, sand flies, biting midges, etc.) to a susceptible vertebrate host. Taxonomically, it is a heterogenous group of vertebrate viruses found in several viral families. With only one exception, African swine fever virus, all TBVs have a RNA genome. To date, at least 160 tick-borne viruses are known, some of them pose a significant threat to human and animal health worldwide. Recently, a number of established TBVs has re-emerged and spread to new geographic locations due to the influence of anthropogenic activities and few available vaccines. Moreover, new emerging tick-borne diseases are constantly being reported. Major advances in molecular biotechnologies have led to discoveries of new TBVs and further genetic characterization of unclassified viruses resulting in changes in TBVs classification created by the International Committee for the Taxonomy of Viruses. Although TBVs spend over 95% of their life cycle within tick vectors and the role of ticks as vectors has been known for over 100 years, our knowledge about TBVs and molecular processes involved in the virus-tick interactions is scarce.

WITHDRAWN: Designing and computational validation of microarray probe sets for the diagnosis of viruses of non-human vertebrates

WITHDRAWN: Designing and computational validation of microarray probe sets for the diagnosis of viruses of non-human vertebrates

ТАКСОНОМІЧНА ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКА ДНК-ГЕНОМНИХ ВІРУСІВ ХРЕБЕТНИХ ТВАРИН І ЛЮДИНИ

Presented modern taxonomy and nomenclature of the DNA-genomic of viruses of vertebrates animals and humans in accordance with the information ICTV release 2015 (ratification 2016). Described the basic criteria for the classification of viruses: characteristics of the viral genome, the mechanism of replication and virions morphology. Viruses of vertebrates (1120 species) consist of 4 orders, 34 families (12 – DNA-genomic, 22 – RNA-genomic), 11 subfamilies and 219 genera. DNA-genomic viruses of vertebrates (546 species) classified in 1 orders, 12 families, 5 subfamilies and 113 genera. The order Herpesvirales has united family Herpesviridae and Alloherpesviridae. Family Poxviridae, Iridoviridae and Parvoviridae, except of viruses of vertebrates, contain viruses of insects. Described the taxa of viruses:family, subfamily, genera, species. Characterized the basic taxonomic features of DNA-genomic viruses of vertebrates: the shape, size and structure of virions – the presence of outer membrane lipoprotein, capsid symmetry type, the structure of the viral DN and the number of proteins. The attention is focused on the features of reproduction of viruses. The replication of majority DNA-genomic viruses of vertebrates occur in the nucleus of cells, except for members of families Poxviridae and Asfarviridae, which are replicate in the cytoplasm. Yield virions is done due to destruction of cells or budding through the cell membrane (sometimes in combination with exocytosis) depending on the structural organization of the virus.

Genome-Wide Screening of Retroviral Envelope Genes in the Nine-Banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus, Xenarthra) Reveals an Unfixed Chimeric Endogenous Betaretrovirus Using the ASCT2 Receptor

Retroviruses enter host cells through the interaction of their envelope (Env) protein with a cell surface receptor, which triggers the fusion of viral and cellular membranes. The sodium-dependent neutral amino acid transporter ASCT2 is the common receptor of the large RD114 retrovirus interference group, whose members display frequent env recombination events. Germ line retrovirus infections have led to numerous inherited endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) in vertebrate genomes, which provide useful insights into the coevolutionary history of retroviruses and their hosts. Rare ERV-derived genes display conserved viral functions, as illustrated by the fusogenic syncytin env genes involved in placentation. Here, we searched for functional env genes in the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) genome and identified dasy-env1.1, which clusters with RD114 interference group env genes and with two syncytin genes sharing ASCT2 receptor usage. Using ex vivo pseudotyping and cell-cell fusion assays, we demonstrated that the Dasy-Env1.1 protein is fusogenic and can use both human and armadillo ASCT2s as receptors. This gammaretroviral env gene belongs to a provirus with betaretrovirus-like features, suggesting acquisition through recombination. Provirus insertion was found in several Dasypus species, where it has not reached fixation, whereas related family members integrated before diversification of the genus Dasypus >12 million years ago (Mya). This newly described ERV lineage is potentially useful as a population genetic marker. Our results extend the usage of ASCT2 as a retrovirus receptor to the mammalian clade Xenarthra and suggest that the acquisition of an ASCT2-interacting env gene is a major selective force driving the emergence of numerous chimeric viruses in vertebrates. Retroviral infection is initiated by the binding of the viral envelope glycoprotein to a host cell receptor(s), triggering membrane fusion. Ancient germ line infections have generated numerous endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) in nearly all vertebrate genomes. Here, we report a previously uncharacterized ERV lineage from the genome of a xenarthran species, the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus). It entered the Dasypus genus >12 Mya, with one element being inserted more recently in some Dasypus species, where it could serve as a useful marker for population genetics. This element exhibits an env gene, acquired by recombination events, with conserved viral fusogenic properties through binding to ASCT2, a receptor used by a wide range of recombinant retroviruses infecting other vertebrate orders. This specifies the ASCT2 transporter as a successful receptor for ERV endogenization and suggests that ASCT2-binding env acquisition events have favored the emergence of numerous chimeric viruses in a wide range of species.