RESUMO
Gypsy is an infectious endogenous retrovirus of Drosophila melanogaster. The gypsy proviruses replicate very efficiently in the genome of the progeny of females homozygous for permissive alleles of the flamenco gene. This replicative transposition is correlated with derepression of gypsy expression, specifically in the somatic cells of the ovaries of the permissive mothers. The determinism of this amplification was studied further by making chimeric mothers containing different permissive/restrictive and somatic/germinal lineages. We show here that the derepression of active proviruses in the permissive soma is necessary and sufficient to induce proviral insertions in the progeny, even if the F1 flies derive from restrictive germ cells devoid of active proviruses. Therefore, gypsy endogenous multiplication results from the transfer of some gypsy-encoded genetic material from the soma towards the germen of the mother and its subsequent insertion into the chromosomes of the progeny. This transfer, however, is not likely to result from retroviral infection of the germline. Indeed, we also show here that the insertion of a tagged gypsy element, mutant for the env gene, occurs at high frequency, independently of the production of gypsy Env proteins by any transcomplementing helper. The possible role of the env gene for horizontal transfer to new hosts is discussed.
Assuntos
Drosophila melanogaster/genética , Retrovirus Endógenos/genética , Amplificação de Genes , Provírus/genética , Retroelementos , Animais , Linhagem da Célula , Cruzamentos Genéticos , Drosophila melanogaster/virologia , Feminino , Genes de Insetos , Genes env , Óvulo , Fatores Sexuais , Replicação ViralRESUMO
The gypsy element of Drosophila melanogaster is the first retrovirus identified so far in invertebrates. Previous data suggest that gypsy ENV-like ORF3 mediates viral infectivity. We have produced in the 293GP/LNhsp701ucL.3 human cell line a Moloney murine leukemia virus-based retroviral vector pseudotyped by the gypsy ENV-like protein. We have shown by immunostaining that the gypsy envelope protein is produced in 293GP/LNhsp701ucL.3 cells and that vector particles collected from these cells can infect Drosophila cells. Our results provide direct evidence that the infectious property of gypsy is due to its ORF3 gene product.
Assuntos
Drosophila melanogaster/genética , Drosophila melanogaster/virologia , Vetores Genéticos , Vírus de Insetos/genética , Vírus da Leucemia Murina de Moloney/genética , Retroviridae/genética , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Animais , Linhagem Celular , Produtos do Gene env/genética , Genes de Insetos , Humanos , Vírus de Insetos/classificação , Camundongos , Vírus da Leucemia Murina de Moloney/classificação , Provírus/genética , Retroviridae/classificaçãoRESUMO
The gypsy element of Drosophila melanogaster is the first retrovirus identified so far in invertebrates. According to phylogenetic data, gypsy belongs to the same group as the Ty3 class of LTR-retrotransposons, which suggests that retroviruses evolved from this kind of retroelements before the radiation of vertebrates. There are other invertebrate retroelements that are also likely to be endogenous retroviruses because they share with gypsy some structural and functional retroviral-like characteristics. Gypsy is controlled by a Drosophila gene called flamenco, the restrictive alleles of which maintain the retrovirus in a repressed state. In permissive strains, functional gypsy elements transpose at high frequency and produce infective particles. Defective gypsy proviruses located in pericentromeric heterochromatin of all strains seem to be very old components of the genome of Drosophila melanogaster, which indicates that gypsy invaded this species, or an ancestor, a long time ago. At that time, Drosophila melanogaster presumably contained permissive alleles of the flamenco gene. One can imagine that the species survived to the increase of genetic load caused by the retroviral invasion because restrictive alleles of flamenco were selected. The characterization of a retrovirus in Drosophila, one of the most advanced model organisms for molecular genetics, provides us with an exceptional clue to study how a species can resist a retroviral invasion.
Assuntos
Drosophila/genética , Evolução Molecular , Genes de Insetos , Retroviridae/genética , Animais , Genoma , Polimorfismo Genético , Sequências Repetitivas de Ácido NucleicoRESUMO
The Escherichia coli rpsO gene gives rise to different mRNA species resulting either from termination of transcription or from processing of primary transcripts by RNase E and RNase III. The main degradation pathway of these transcripts involves a rate-limiting RNase E cleavage downstream of the structural gene which removes the 3' terminal stem-loop structure of the transcription terminator. This structure protects the message from the attack of 3'-5' exonucleases and its removal results in very rapid degradation of the transcript by polynucleotide phosphorylase and RNase II. Polynucleotide phosphorylase is also able to degrade slowly the mRNA harboring the 3' terminal hairpin of the terminator. In contrast, RNase II appears to protect the rpsO mRNA species which retains the 3' hairpin structure. Rapid degradation of the rpsO mRNA is observed after inactivation of RNase II even in a strain deficient for RNase E and polynucleotide phosphorylase. The enzyme(s) involved in this degradation pathway is not known. We detected an unstable elongated rpsO mRNA presumably resulting from the addition of nucleotides at the 3' end of the transcript.
