1
|
The Unique, the Known, and the Unknown of Spumaretrovirus Assembly. Viruses 2021; 13:v13010105. [PMID: 33451128 PMCID: PMC7828637 DOI: 10.3390/v13010105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Revised: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Within the family of Retroviridae, foamy viruses (FVs) are unique and unconventional with respect to many aspects in their molecular biology, including assembly and release of enveloped viral particles. Both components of the minimal assembly and release machinery, Gag and Env, display significant differences in their molecular structures and functions compared to the other retroviruses. This led to the placement of FVs into a separate subfamily, the Spumaretrovirinae. Here, we describe the molecular differences in FV Gag and Env, as well as Pol, which is translated as a separate protein and not in an orthoretroviral manner as a Gag-Pol fusion protein. This feature further complicates FV assembly since a specialized Pol encapsidation strategy via a tripartite Gag-genome–Pol complex is used. We try to relate the different features and specific interaction patterns of the FV Gag, Pol, and Env proteins in order to develop a comprehensive and dynamic picture of particle assembly and release, but also other features that are indirectly affected. Since FVs are at the root of the retrovirus tree, we aim at dissecting the unique/specialized features from those shared among the Spuma- and Orthoretrovirinae. Such analyses may shed light on the evolution and characteristics of virus envelopment since related viruses within the Ortervirales, for instance LTR retrotransposons, are characterized by different levels of envelopment, thus affecting the capacity for intercellular transmission.
Collapse
|
2
|
Twelfth International Foamy Virus Conference-Meeting Report. Viruses 2019; 11:v11020134. [PMID: 30717288 PMCID: PMC6409691 DOI: 10.3390/v11020134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The 12th International Foamy Virus Conference took place on 30–31 August 2018 at the Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. The meeting included presentations on current research on non-human primate and non-primate foamy viruses (FVs; also called spumaretroviruses) as well as keynote talks on related research areas in retroviruses. The taxonomy of foamy viruses was updated earlier this year to create five new genera in the subfamily, Spumaretrovirinae, based on their animal hosts. Research on viruses from different genera was presented on topics of potential relevance to human health, such as natural infections and cross-species transmission, replication, and viral-host interactions in particular with the immune system, dual retrovirus infections, virus structure and biology, and viral vectors for gene therapy. This article provides an overview of the current state-of-the-field, summarizes the meeting highlights, and presents some important questions that need to be addressed in the future.
Collapse
|
3
|
Khan AS, Bodem J, Buseyne F, Gessain A, Johnson W, Kuhn JH, Kuzmak J, Lindemann D, Linial ML, Löchelt M, Materniak-Kornas M, Soares MA, Switzer WM. Spumaretroviruses: Updated taxonomy and nomenclature. Virology 2018; 516:158-164. [PMID: 29407373 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2017.12.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2017] [Revised: 12/29/2017] [Accepted: 12/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Spumaretroviruses, commonly referred to as foamy viruses, are complex retroviruses belonging to the subfamily Spumaretrovirinae, family Retroviridae, which naturally infect a variety of animals including nonhuman primates (NHPs). Additionally, cross-species transmissions of simian foamy viruses (SFVs) to humans have occurred following exposure to tissues of infected NHPs. Recent research has led to the identification of previously unknown exogenous foamy viruses, and to the discovery of endogenous spumaretrovirus sequences in a variety of host genomes. Here, we describe an updated spumaretrovirus taxonomy that has been recently accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) Executive Committee, and describe a virus nomenclature that is generally consistent with that used for other retroviruses, such as lentiviruses and deltaretroviruses. This taxonomy can be applied to distinguish different, but closely related, primate (e.g., human, ape, simian) foamy viruses as well as those from other hosts. This proposal accounts for host-virus co-speciation and cross-species transmission.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arifa S Khan
- Laboratory of Retroviruses, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA.
| | - Jochen Bodem
- Institut für Virologie und Immunbiologie, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Florence Buseyne
- Unit of Epidemiology and Physiopathology of Oncogenic Viruses, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS UMR3569, Paris, France
| | - Antoine Gessain
- Unit of Epidemiology and Physiopathology of Oncogenic Viruses, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS UMR3569, Paris, France
| | - Welkin Johnson
- Biology Department, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
| | - Jens H Kuhn
- Integrated Research Facility at Fort Detrick, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Jacek Kuzmak
- Department of Biochemistry, National Veterinary Research Institute, Puławy, Poland
| | - Dirk Lindemann
- Institute of Virology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Maxine L Linial
- Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Martin Löchelt
- Research Program Infection, Inflammation and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DFKZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Marcelo A Soares
- Instituto Nacional de Câncer and Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - William M Switzer
- Laboratory Branch, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
| |
Collapse
|