The human endogenous retrovirus family HERV-K(HML-3)

A substantial amount of the human genome is composed of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs). Manifold HERV families have been identified, among them several so-called HERV-K(HML) families. Although the HERV-K(HML-2) family has been studied in detail, other HERV-K families are not as well characterized. We describe here the HERV-K HML-3 family in more detail. We estimate that there are about 140 proviral loci or remains of such per haploid genome. Most loci are severely mutated. Proviruses displaying larger deletions in gag and pol are common. A multiple alignment of 73 HERV-K(HML-3) sequences displays several potentially important differences compared with the HERVK9I sequence in Repbase. A consensus sequence with open reading frames for all retroviral genes was generated, for which intact dUTPase motifs and env gene variants with different coding capacities are observed. Phylogenetic analysis shows near-monophyly with distinction of two closely related subgroups. Proviruses formed about 36 million years ago. However, no continuous activity through primate evolution is indicated.     

HERV-K(OLD): ancestor sequences of the human endogenous retrovirus family HERV-K(HML-2)

Sequences homologous to the human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) family HERV-K(HML-2) are present in all Old World primate species. A previous study showed that a central region of the HERV-K(HML-2) gag genes in Hominoidea species displays a 96-bp deletion compared to the gag genes in lower Old World primates. The more ancient HERV-K(HML-2) sequences present in lower Old World primates were apparently not conserved during hominoid evolution, as opposed to the deletion variants. To further clarify the evolutionary origin of the HERV-K(HML-2) family, we screened GenBank with the 96-bp gag-sequence characteristic of lower Old World primates and identified, to date, 10 human sequence entries harboring either full-length or partially deleted proviral structures, probably representing remnants of a more ancient HERV-K(HML-2) variant. The high degree of mutations demonstrates the long-time presence of these HERV-K(OLD) proviruses in the genome. Nevertheless, they still belong to the HML-2 family as deduced from dot matrix and phylogenetic analyses. We estimate, based on the family ages of integrated Alu elements and on long terminal repeat (LTR) divergence data, that the average age of HERV-K(OLD) proviruses is ca. 28 million years, supporting an integration time before the evolutionary split of Hominoidea from lower Old World primates. Analysis of HERV-K(OLD) LTR sequences led to the distinction of two subgroups, both of which cluster with LTRs belonging to an evolutionarily older cluster. Taken together, our data give further insight into the evolutionary history of the HERV-K(HML-2) family during primate evolution.     

Determination of Sequences Required for Human Endogenous Retrovirus K Transduction and Its Recognition by Foreign Retroviral Virions

Sequences necessary for transduction of human endogenous retrovirus (HERV)-K_con, a consensus of the HERV-K(HML-2) family, were analyzed and found to reside in the leader/gag region. They act in an orientation-dependent way and consist of at least two sites working together. Having defined these sequences, we exploited this information to produce a simple system to investigate to what extent virions of HERV-K_con, murine leukemia virus, and HIV-1 have the ability to transduce each other''s genomes, leading to potential contamination of gene therapy vectors.     

Human endogenous retrovirus family HERV-K(HML-5): status, evolution, and reconstruction of an ancient betaretrovirus in the human genome

The human genome harbors numerous distinct families of so-called human endogenous retroviruses (HERV) which are remnants of exogenous retroviruses that entered the germ line millions of years ago. We describe here the hitherto little-characterized betaretrovirus HERV-K(HML-5) family (named HERVK22 in Repbase) in greater detail. Out of 139 proviruses, only a few loci represent full-length proviruses, and many lack gag protease and/or env gene regions. We generated a consensus sequence from multiple alignment of 62 HML-5 loci that displays open reading frames for the four major retroviral proteins. Four HML-5 long terminal repeat (LTR) subfamilies were identified that are associated with monophyletic proviral bodies, implying different evolution of HML-5 LTRs and genes. Sequence analysis indicated that the proviruses formed approximately 55 million years ago. Accordingly, HML-5 proviral sequences were detected in Old World and New World primates but not in prosimians. No recent activity is associated with this HERV family. We also conclude that the HML-5 consensus sequence primer binding site is identical to methionine tRNA. Therefore, the family should be designated HERV-M. Our study provides important insights into the structure and evolution of the oldest betaretrovirus in the primate genome known to date.     

A Single Amino Acid Substitution in a Segment of the CA Protein within Gag That Has Similarity to Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Blocks Infectivity of a Human Endogenous Retrovirus K Provirus in the Human Genome

Human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) is the most intact retrovirus in the human genome. However, no single HERV-K provirus in the human genome today appears to be infectious. Since the Gag protein is the central component for the production of retrovirus particles, we investigated the abilities of Gag from two HERV-K proviruses to support production of virus-like particles and viral infectivity. HERV-K113 has full-length open reading frames for all viral proteins, while HERV-K101 has a full-length gag open reading frame and is expressed in human male germ cell tumors. The Gag of HERV-K101 allowed production of viral particles and infectivity, although at lower levels than observed with a consensus sequence Gag. Thus, including HERV-K109, at least two HERV-K proviruses in human genome today have functional Gag proteins. In contrast, HERV-K113 Gag supported only very low levels of particle production, and no infectivity was detectable due to a single amino acid substitution (I516M) near the extreme C terminus of the CA protein within Gag. The sequence of this portion of HERV-K CA showed similarities to that of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 and other primate immunodeficiency viruses. The extreme C terminus of CA may be a general determinant of retrovirus particle production. In addition, precise mapping of the defects in HERV-K proviruses as was done here identifies the key polymorphisms that need to be analyzed to assess the possible existence of infectious HERV-K alleles within the human population.Approximately 8% of the human genome comprises endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) (33, 59). These viruses infect germ lineage cells and thereby enter the genome of the host species. Thus, endogenous proviruses (the integrated form of retroviral DNA) are transmitted from parents to offspring in genomic DNA. If ERV genomes are intact, viral particles may be generated that can reinfect the germ line and form proviruses at new positions in the host genome. However, ERVs are subject to the same mutagenic processes over evolutionary time as any cellular gene. In the absence of selective pressure on the host to maintain intact viral genomes, endogenous retroviral proviruses accrue mutations over evolutionary time that inactivate viral infectivity. Most of the ERVs in the human genome have converted to solo long terminal repeats (solo LTRs), which are the product of homologous recombination between LTRs at the ends of the complete viral genome. Other types of mutations, such as nucleotide substitutions, insertions, and deletions, can also affect ERV proviruses, and many of the retroviral proviruses in the human genome have been inactivated by such mutations, which created premature stop codons or frameshifts in viral open reading frames (ORFs). The vast majority of the ERVs present in humans today (and perhaps all of them) have incurred mutations that inactivated viral infectivity.One provirus that exists in the genome of approximately 20% of humans, human ERV K113 (HERV-K113, referred to here as K113), has full-length ORFs for all viral proteins (8, 63). However, this provirus does not appear to be infectious, as the pol and env genes of K113 do not support infectivity (9, 19, 20). K113 belongs to a subset of HERV-K called HML-2 (43). Since the human and chimpanzee lineages diverged about 6 million years ago (52), the only proviruses that entered the genome of the human lineage belong to this subgroup, although other members of this subgroup entered the germ line prior to the divergence of the human and chimpanzee lineages (8, 27, 44, 63). The human-specific proviruses of this subgroup are the most intact retroviruses in the human genome. Infectious HERV-K particles have been generated using two different approaches based on their DNA sequences. HERV-KCON (K-CON) was constructed based on the consensus sequence of human-specific HERV-K proviruses (34). Infectious HERV-K particles were also generated by combining pieces from three separate proviruses, HERV-K109 (K109) gag-pro, HERV-K115 pol, and HERV-K108 (K108) env (20). Thus, it may be that no single provirus is infectious, but recombination and/or genetic complementation among multiple genomic proviruses may be required to produce infectious HERV-K particles. This raises the questions of whether multiple functional HERV-K components exist in the human genome today and how close these components are to being able to form a functional viral genome that might be capable of reinfecting human cells.To begin addressing these issues, we examined two of the full-length HERV-K gag genes that exist in the human genome today. Like all retroviruses, HERV-K contains the four genes necessary for viral replication: gag, pro, pol, and env. The human-specific HERV-K proviruses exist in two forms, type I and type II (38, 39). The type II proviruses contain gag, pro, pol, and env plus an accessory gene, rec, that encodes a protein (Rec) that functions in nuclear export of unspliced viral RNA in a manner analogous to that of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Rev (12, 40, 41, 65, 66). In type I proviruses, the pol and env genes are fused in frame by a 292-bp deletion that includes the first coding exon of rec, and the viruses encode an additional protein called Np9 (5, 48). The gag genes are relevant to whether HERV-K components in the human genome today might form an infectious virus, as the Gag protein is sufficient to produce virus-like particles (VLPs) in the absence of other viral proteins (4). Formation of such particles is an essential step for subsequent viral replication. Therefore, we decided to investigate whether Gag proteins from K113 and a second provirus, HERV-K101 (K101), are active in functional assays.     

Allelic Variation of HERV-K(HML-2) Endogenous Retroviral Elements in Human Populations

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are the remnants of ancient germ cell infection by exogenous retroviruses and occupy up to 8% of the human genome. It has been suggested that HERV sequences have contributed to primate evolution by regulating the expression of cellular genes and mediating chromosome rearrangements. After integration 28 million years ago, members of the HERV-K (HML-2) family have continued to amplify and recombine. To investigate the utility of HML-2 polymorphisms as markers for the study of more recent human evolution, we compiled a list of the structure and integration sites of sequences that are unique to humans and screened each insertion for polymorphism within the human genome databases. Of the total of 74 HML-2 sequences, 18 corresponded to complete or near-complete proviruses, 49 were solitary long terminal repeats (LTRs), 6 were incomplete LTRs, and 1 was a SVA retrotransposon. A number of different allelic configurations were identified including the alternation of a provirus and solitary LTR. We developed polymerase chain reaction-based assays for seven HML-2 loci and screened 109 human DNA samples from Africa, Europe, Asia, and Southeast Asia. Our results indicate that the diversity of HML-2 elements is higher in African than non-African populations, with population differentiation values ranging from 0.6 to 9.8%. These findings denote a recent expansion from Africa. We compare the phylogenetic relationships of HML-2 sequences that are unique to humans and consider whether these elements have played a role in the remodeling of the hominid genome.Reviewing Editor: Dr. Wen-Hsiung Li     

Human endogenous retroviral elements as indicators of ectopic recombination events in the primate genome

HERV elements make up a significant fraction of the human genome and, as interspersed repetitive elements, have the capacity to provide substrates for ectopic recombination and gene conversion events. To understand the extent to which these events occur and gain further insight into the complex evolutionary history of these elements in our genome, we undertook a phylogenetic study of the long terminal repeat sequences of 15 HERV-K(HML-2) elements in various primate species. This family of human endogenous retroviruses first entered the primate genome between 35 and 45 million years ago. Throughout primate evolution, these elements have undergone bursts of amplification. From this analysis, which is the largest-scale study of HERV sequence dynamics during primate evolution to date, we were able to detect intraelement gene conversion and recombination at five HERV-K loci. We also found evidence for replacement of an ancient element by another HERV-K provirus, apparently reflecting an occurrence of retroviral integration by homologous recombination. The high frequency of these events casts doubt on the accuracy of integration time estimates based only on divergence between retroelement LTRs.     

Comparison Between Two Human Endogenous Retrovirus (HERV)-Rich Regions Within the Major Histocompatibility Complex

Sixteen human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) sequences were detected within 656 kb of genomic sequence obtained from the alpha- and beta-block of the class I region of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The HERVs were identified and characterized as family members of HERV-16 (11 copies), HERV-L (1 copy), HERV-I (2 copies), HERV-K91 (1 copy), and HARLEQUIN (1 copy) by sequence comparison using CENSOR or Repeat Masker, BLAST searches, and dot plots. The 11 copies of HERV-16 arose as products of duplication of genomic segments containing HLA class I (HLAcI) and PERB11 (MIC) genes inter alia, whereas the other five HERVs arose after duplication probably as a consequence of single insertion events or translocations. HERV-L and HERV-I are located between the duplicated genes PERB11.2 (MICB) and PERB11.1 (MICA), and HLA-B and HLA-C, respectively, whereas HERV-K91 and HARLEQUIN are located telomeric of HLA-C. A highly fragmented copy of HERV-I was also found telomeric of PERB11.4. Structural analysis of open reading frames (ORFs) revealed the absence of intact coding sequence within the putative gag, pol, and env gene regions of all the HERVs with the exception of HERV-K91, which had two large ORFs within the region of the putative protease and pol genes. In addition, the 5′-LTR of HERV-L contained a 2.5-kb element that was AT-rich and large ORFs with putative amino acid sequences rich in tyrosines and isoleucines. HERV-I, HARLEQUIN, and at least four copies of HERV-16 appear to have been receptors for the insertion of other retrotransposons including Alu elements and fragments of L1 and THE1. Examination of flanking sequences suggests that HERV-I and HERV-L had occurred by insertion into ancient L1 fragments. This study has revealed that the alpha- and beta-block region within the MHC is rich in HERV sequences occurring at a much higher ratio (10 to 1) than normally observed in the human genome. These HERV sequences will therefore enhance further studies on disease associations and differences between human haplotypes and primates and their role in the evolution of class I genes in the MHC. Received: 17 September 1998 / Accepted: 8 January 1999     

Genotyping of five single nucleotide polymorphisms in the OCA2 and HERC2 genes associated with blue‐brown eye color in the Japanese population

Human eye color is a polymorphic phenotype influenced by multiple genes. It has recently been reported that three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within intron 1 of the OCA2 gene (rs7495174, rs4778241, rs4778138) and two SNPs in intron 86 (rs12913832) and the 3′ UTR region (rs1129038) of the HERC2 gene—located in the upstream of the OCA2 locus —have a high statistical association with human eye color. The present study is the first to examine in detail the genotype and haplotype frequencies for these five SNPs in an Asian (Japanese) population (n = 523) comprising solely brown‐eyed individuals. Comparison of the genotype and haplotype distributions in Japanese with those in African and European subjects revealed significant differences between Japanese and other populations. Analysis of haplotypes consisting of four SNPs at the HERC2‐OCA2 locus (rs12913832/rs7495174/rs4778241/rs4778138) showed that the most frequent haplotype in the Japanese population is A‐GAG (0.568), while the frequency of this haplotype is rather low in the European population, even in the brown‐eyed group (0.167). The haplotype distribution in the Japanese population was significantly different from that in the brown‐eyed European group (F_ST = 0.18915). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Association of dopamine‐ and serotonin‐related genes with canine aggression

Human‐directed canine aggression was studied using 50 aggressive and 81 non‐aggressive dogs. We examined 62 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) occurring in or in the close vicinity of 16 neurotransmitter‐related genes. Allelic associations with aggression were identified for DRD1, HTR1D, HTR2C and SLC6A1. Risk or protective haplotypes for aggressive behaviour based on 2–5 SNPs were identified. The frequency of aggressive dogs varied significantly between the haplotypes within loci and the odds ratios of aggression in dogs with risk haplotypes compared with protective haplotypes varied from 4.4 (HTR2C) to 9.0 (SLC6A1). A risk haplotype across the neurotransmitter receptor gene HTR1D harboured a non‐synonymous SNP with a potential effect on protein function. We identified no haplotypes in complete association with the recorded phenotypes, supporting a complex inheritance of aggression.