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mRNA transcripts related to full-length endogenous retroviral DNA in human cells

Nature volume 306, pages 604–607 (1983)Cite this article

Abstract

Mammalian cells contain multiple copies of endogenous type C retroviral DNA sequences1–4. Among these sequences are complete, potentially infectious proviruses5–7, pro viral DNA that is expressed only in the form of viral antigens8–10, retroviral segments that may contribute portions of envelope (env) genes during the generation of recombinant polytropic viruses11,12, and many subgenomic viral DNA segments12 that may not be expressed at all. We have previously reported the identification and molecular cloning of type C retroviral sequences from human DNA13 and have shown that the partial nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of one of the clones obtained (λ51) are homologous to Moloney MuLV (MoMuLV) in the gag and pol regions14. The λ51 clone as well as several others isolated from a human DNA library contained approximately 4.3 kilobases (kb) of retroviral sequences, were deleted in the env region14, and were flanked by tandem repeats unlike the long terminal repeats (LTRs) typically found in proviral DNAs (P.E.S., in preparation). We describe here the characterization of a full-length human retroviral clone (λ4-1) containing LTR elements as well as a putative env region. DNA–RNA hybridization experiments reveal that human cells contain species of poly(A)+ RNA that anneal to segments of the full-length retroviral DNA clone.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20205, USA

    Arnold B. Rabson, Paul E. Steele & Malcolm A. Martin

  2. Operations Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rocky Mountain Laboratory, Hamilton, Montana, 59840, USA

    Claude F. Garon

Authors
  1. Arnold B. Rabson
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  2. Paul E. Steele
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  3. Claude F. Garon
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  4. Malcolm A. Martin
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Rabson, A., Steele, P., Garon, C. et al. mRNA transcripts related to full-length endogenous retroviral DNA in human cells. Nature 306, 604–607 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/306604a0

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