TY - JOUR
T1 - Absence of accessory genes in a divergent simian T-lymphotropic virus type 1 isolated from a bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata)
AU - Afonso, Philippe V.
AU - Fagrouch, Zahra
AU - Deijs, Martin
AU - Niphuis, Henk
AU - Bogers, Willy
AU - Gessain, Antoine
AU - van der Hoek, Lia
AU - Verschoor, Ernst J.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - BACKGROUND: Primate T-lymphotropic viruses type 1 (PTLV-1) are complex retroviruses infecting both human (HTLV-1) and simian (STLV-1) hosts. They share common epidemiological, clinical and molecular features. In addition to the canonical gag, pol, env retroviral genes, PTLV-1 purportedly encodes regulatory (i.e. Tax, Rex, and HBZ) and accessory proteins (i.e. P12/8, P13, P30). The latter have been found essential for viral persistence in vivo. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have isolated a STLV-1 virus from a bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata-Mra18C9), a monkey from India. The complete sequence was obtained and phylogenetic analyses were performed. The Mra18C9 strain is highly divergent from the known PTLV-1 strains. Intriguingly, the Mra18C9 lacks the 3 accessory open reading frames. In order to determine if the absence of accessory proteins is specific to this particular strain, a comprehensive analysis of the complete PTLV-1 genomes available in Genbank was performed and found that the lack of one or many accessory ORF is common among PTLV-1. CONCLUSION: This study raises many questions regarding the actual nature, role and importance of accessory proteins in the PTLV-1 biology.
AB - BACKGROUND: Primate T-lymphotropic viruses type 1 (PTLV-1) are complex retroviruses infecting both human (HTLV-1) and simian (STLV-1) hosts. They share common epidemiological, clinical and molecular features. In addition to the canonical gag, pol, env retroviral genes, PTLV-1 purportedly encodes regulatory (i.e. Tax, Rex, and HBZ) and accessory proteins (i.e. P12/8, P13, P30). The latter have been found essential for viral persistence in vivo. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have isolated a STLV-1 virus from a bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata-Mra18C9), a monkey from India. The complete sequence was obtained and phylogenetic analyses were performed. The Mra18C9 strain is highly divergent from the known PTLV-1 strains. Intriguingly, the Mra18C9 lacks the 3 accessory open reading frames. In order to determine if the absence of accessory proteins is specific to this particular strain, a comprehensive analysis of the complete PTLV-1 genomes available in Genbank was performed and found that the lack of one or many accessory ORF is common among PTLV-1. CONCLUSION: This study raises many questions regarding the actual nature, role and importance of accessory proteins in the PTLV-1 biology.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85070116244&origin=inward
UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31283766
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007521
DO - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007521
M3 - Article
C2 - 31283766
SN - 1935-2727
VL - 13
SP - e0007521
JO - PLoS neglected tropical diseases
JF - PLoS neglected tropical diseases
IS - 7
ER -