Molecular fossils illuminate the evolution of retroviruses following a macroevolutionary transition from land to water.

ABSTRACT: The ancestor of cetaceans underwent a macroevolutionary transition from land to water early in the Eocene Period >50 million years ago. However, little is known about how diverse retroviruses evolved during this shift from terrestrial to aquatic environments. Did retroviruses transition into water accompanying their hosts? Did retroviruses infect cetaceans through cross-species transmission after cetaceans invaded the aquatic environments? Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) provide important molecular fossils for tracing the evolution of retroviruses during this macroevolutionary transition. Here, we use a phylogenomic approach to study the origin and evolution of ERVs in cetaceans. We identify a total of 8,724 ERVs within the genomes of 25 cetaceans, and phylogenetic analyses suggest these ER

SUBMITTER: Zheng J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8297934 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature