Viral fossils in marsupial genomes: secret cellular guardians
Emma F Harding A B , Grace JH Yan A and Peter A White A CA School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales
B Email: e.harding@unsw.edu.au
C Email: p.white@unsw.edu.au
Microbiology Australia 42(3) 134-137 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA21036
Submitted: 16 August 2021 Accepted: 25 August 2021 Published: 6 September 2021
Journal Compilation © The Authors 2021 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND, published (by CSIRO Publishing) on behalf of the ASM
Abstract
Genomic viral integrations, termed endogenous viral elements (EVEs), are fragments of viruses in host chromosomes that provide information about viral evolution and could even help protect the host from infection. In the present study we examined EVEs in thirteen different Australian marsupial species to identify trends in their integration, commonality and to investigate their possible cellular function. We found that marsupial EVEs are commonly derived from viruses of the Bornaviridae, Filoviridae and Parvoviridae families, and circulated up to 160 million years ago. We also show the EVEs are actively transcribed into both long and short RNA molecules in marsupials, and propose they are involved in a cellular defence mechanism to protect the germline from viral genomic invasion.
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