Identification and phylogenetic analysis of novel human endogenous retroviral sequences belonging to the HERV-H family on human X and Y chromosomes

HERV-H, a family of endogenous retroviral elements that has undergone successive expansions in the human genome, includes sequences that are expressed in placenta and T cells. With a PCR approach to the HERV-H using human monochromosomal somatic cell hybrid DNA, we identified 8 new HERV-H sequences on the X chromosome, and one novel HERV-H element, HY-1, the first reported such element on the Y chromosome, and compared these with sequences in the nucleotide sequence database. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that clone HX-1 and BAC clone 523A23 on the X chromosome were found to be in close relationship to the sequences of DJ088A21 on the human chromosome 7q31. This finding allows us to speculate that HERV-H elements may have evolved by intra-chromosomal spread. Our data may relevant to an understanding of human genomic plasticity.