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Activation of an endogenous retrovirus from Tupaia (tree shrew)

Nature volume 271, pages 543–545 (1978)Cite this article

Abstract

TYPE-C RNA viruses have been isolated from tissues and cell lines of various mammalian species, including mice1,2, domestic cats3, pigs4,5, woolly monkeys6,7, gibbons8 and squirrel monkeys9. The viruses from woolly monkeys seem to be horizontally transmitted as infectious agents which cause naturally occurring tumours in gibbons7. Apart from the known aetiological role of certain oncornaviruses in the formation of neoplasms, there has been increasing interest in the isolation of mammalian retroviruses and their evolutionary relatedness to different species. Experimental evidence suggests that during evolution an endogenous virus crossed from one species to another10. Tupaia (the tree shrew), a member of the family Tupaiidae, is regarded as one of the most primitive living prosimians, bridging the gap between insectivores and primates11,12. We report here the detection and activation, in vitro and in vivo, of an endogenous retrovirus from Tupaia. This opens up the possibility of a direct comparison of the Tupaia retrovirus with type-C viruses from rodents and primates.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Virusforschung, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69, Heidelberg, FRG

    ROLF M. FLÜGEL, HANSWALTER ZENTGRAF & KLAUS MUNK

  2. Institut fur Medizinische Virologie der Universitat Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 324, 69, Heidelberg, FRG

    GHOLAMREZA DARAI

Authors
  1. ROLF M. FLÜGEL
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  2. HANSWALTER ZENTGRAF
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  3. KLAUS MUNK
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  4. GHOLAMREZA DARAI
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FLÜGEL, R., ZENTGRAF, H., MUNK, K. et al. Activation of an endogenous retrovirus from Tupaia (tree shrew). Nature 271, 543–545 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/271543a0

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