Les éléments transposables (ET) sont des portions d’ADN capables de se déplacer et d’augmenter le nombre de leurs copies dans les génomes. Deux grands types de transposition, correspondant à deux grandes classes d’ET, sont retrouvés chez la quasi-totalité des génomes étudiés à ce jour. Les rétrotransposons à LTR (Long Terminal Repeats, LTR-RT), appartenant à la Classe 1, sont les composants majoritaires des génomes des plantes. Leur prolifération peut avoir un impact important sur l’organisation, la variation de taille, l’évolution des génomes et l’activité des gènes.Le café, largement consommé dans le monde et produit uniquement par des pays du Sud, est issu de deux espèces cultivées d’origine africaine : Coffea arabica et C. canephora. Le genre Coffea est constitué de 139 espèces occupant des habitats très variés en Afrique, dans les îles de l’ouest de l’océan Indien, l’Inde, l’Asie tropicale et du sud-est et au nord de l’Australie. Toutes les espèces son diploïdes, à l’exception notable de C. arabica, allotétraploïde, issu d’une hybridation interspécifique récente entre les deux espèces diploïdes : C. canephora et C. eugenioides. Pour autant, la taille des génomes des espèces diploïdes varie du simple au double. Les nombreuses données génomiques aujourd’hui disponibles au sein du genre Coffea permettent d’étudier la dynamique des LTR-RT constituant au minimum 42% du génome de C. canephora, l’espèce séquencée et disponible dans les bases de données publiques.Dans ce travail, deux lignées remarquables de LTR-RT, Bianca et SIRE, ont été étudiées par des approches bio- informatiques. Bianca sensu stricto, présente uniquement chez les monocotylédones, est représentée chez les dicotylédones par la famille Divo, très peu étudiée à ce jour. L’activation récente de Divo sans induire sa propre structuration, est étroitement associée à la différenciation génétique de C. canephora. Par contre, tout en étant présente dans toutes les espèces de caféiers étudiées, l’activation semble sporadique. À l’opposé, les éléments SIRE, la seule lignée de LTR-RT de la superfamille des Copia contenant un domaine enveloppe comme les rétrovirus, montre des variations structurales importantes entre les accessions des espèces diploïdes à l’origine de C arabica et plus globalement, et en parallèle de l’évolution du genre.Nos travaux montrent que la compréhension de la dynamique des LTR-RT dans un genre peut permettre de mieux appréhender son histoire évolutive, chaque famille de LTR-RT pouvant apporter un éclairage différent. Nos résultats indiquent qu’à la fois les clades biogéographiques (phylogénie moléculaire des caféiers) mais aussi certaines accessions d’espèces diploïdes ont des histoires particulières. Celles-ci seraient vraisemblablement liées à la colonisation de nouvelles niches et à la dynamique des LTR-RT composant les génomes des Coffea. / Transposable elements (TEs) are DNA fragments that are able to move and to increase their copy numbers. Two transposition mechanisms corresponding to the two main TE classes are found in almost all organisms. LTR retrotransposons (Long Terminal Repeats, LTR-RTs), belonging to Class 1, are the main components of plant genomes. Genome organisation, size variation, evolution and gene activity can be strongly impacted by their proliferation.Worldwide consumed and produced by South countries, coffee is obtained from two African cultivated species: Coffea arabica and C. canephora. The Coffea genus includes 139 species occurring in diverse habitats in Africa, Madagascar, Mascarene Islands, Comoros, India, Southeast and Tropical Asia and North Australia. All the species are diploids, except the noteworthy allotetraploid C. arabica, originated from a recent inter-specific hybridisation between two diploids: C. canephora and C. eugenioides. However, genome size of diploid species can vary for up to two folds. Today, the numerous genomic data available for Coffea allows the study of LTR- RTs, constituting at least 42% of C. canephora genome, the sequenced species available in public databases.In this work, two notable LTR-RT lineages, Bianca and SIRE, have been studied by bioinformatics approaches. Bianca s.s., is present only in Monocots and it is represented in Dicots by the Divo family, poorly studied nowadays. The recent activation of Divo, without leading to its own structuring, is closely associated to the genetic differentiation of C. canephora. However, this activation seems sporadic as being present in all the coffee-trees species studied here. On the opposite, SIRE elements, which are the only Copia LTR-RTs carrying an envelope-like gene as retroviruses, show an important structuring variation between accessions among C. arabica progenitors, and in parallel to the genus evolution.Our work shows that understanding the LTR-RTs dynamics in a genus allows a better perception of its evolutionary history, with the possibility of different evolutionary timing given by different LTR-RTs families. Our results also indicate that both the biogeographic clades (coffee molecular phylogeny) and also some diploid accessions have peculiar histories, probably related to the colonisation of new ecological niches and to the LTR- RTs dynamics.

Retrotransposons comprise a large portion of mammalian genomes. They contribute to structural changes and more importantly to gene regulation. The expansion and diversification of gene families have been implicated as sources of evolutionary novelties. Given the roles retrotransposons play in genomes, their contribution to the evolution of gene families warrants further exploration. In this study, we found a significant association between two major retrotransposon classes, LINEs and LTRs, and lineage-specific gene family expansions in both the human and mouse genomes. The distribution and diversity differ between LINEs and LTRs, suggesting that each has a distinct involvement in gene family expansion. LTRs are associated with open chromatin sites surrounding the gene families, supporting their involvement in gene regulation, whereas LINEs may play a structural role promoting gene duplication. Our findings also suggest that gene family expansions, especially in the mouse genome, undergo two phases. The first phase is characterized by elevated deposition of LTRs and their utilization in reshaping gene regulatory networks. The second phase is characterized by rapid gene family expansion due to continuous accumulation of LINEs and it appears that, in some instances at least, this could become a runaway process. We provide an example in which this has happened and we present a simulation supporting the possibility of the runaway process. Altogether we provide evidence of the contribution of retrotransposons to the expansion and evolution of gene families. Our findings emphasize the putative importance of these elements in diversification and adaptation in the human and mouse lineages.

Background: Long terminal repeats (LTRs, consisting of U3-R-U5 portions) are important elements of retroviruses and related retrotransposons. They are difficult to analyse due to their variability. The aim was to obtain a more comprehensive view of structure, diversity and phylogeny of LTRs than hitherto possible. Results: Hidden Markov models (HMM) were created for 11 clades of LTRs belonging to Retroviridae (class III retroviruses), animal Metaviridae (Gypsy/Ty3) elements and plant Pseudoviridae (Copia/Ty1) elements, complementing our work with Orthoretrovirus HMMs. The great variation in LTR length of plant Metaviridae and the few divergent animal Pseudoviridae prevented building HMMs from both of these groups. Animal Metaviridae LTRs had the same conserved motifs as retroviral LTRs, confirming that the two groups are closely related. The conserved motifs were the short inverted repeats (SIRs), integrase recognition signals (5' TGTTRNR ... YNYAACA 3'); the polyadenylation signal or AATAAA motif; a GT-rich stretch downstream of the polyadenylation signal; and a less conserved AT-rich stretch corresponding to the core promoter element, the TATA box. Plant Pseudoviridae LTRs differed slightly in having a conserved TATA-box, TATATA, but no conserved polyadenylation signal, plus a much shorter R region. The sensitivity of the HMMs for detection in genomic sequences was around 50% for most models, at a relatively high specificity, suitable for genome screening. The HMMs yielded consensus sequences, which were aligned by creating an HMM model (a 'Superviterbi' alignment). This yielded a phylogenetic tree that was compared with a Pol-based tree. Both LTR and Pol trees supported monophyly of retroviruses. In both, Pseudoviridae was ancestral to all other LTR retrotransposons. However, the LTR trees showed the chromovirus portion of Metaviridae clustering together with Pseudoviridae, dividing Metaviridae into two portions with distinct phylogeny. Conclusion: The HMMs clearly demonstrated a unitary conserved structure of LTRs, supporting that they arose once during evolution. We attempted to follow the evolution of LTRs by tracing their functional foundations, that is, acquisition of RNAse H, a combined promoter/polyadenylation site, integrase, hairpin priming and the primer binding site (PBS). Available information did not support a simple evolutionary chain of events.

Long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons account for approximately 10% of mouse and 8% of human genomes and may play a role in modifying gene expression. Many species harbor retrotransposon families encompassing both autonomous and non-autonomous members. Specifically, the mouse Early Transposon (ETn) family members lack all retroviral genes but are transcriptionally and retrotranspositionally active, causing over 20 known insertional germline mutations. ETns owe their retrotransposition potential to proteins encoded by structurally intact MusD retrotransposons with whom they share LTRs. ETn elements are transcribed at a much higher level than MusD retrotransposons in embryos and undifferentiated cells, suggesting their evasion of host restriction mechanisms. However, mechanisms responsible for the replicative success of non-autonomous retrotransposon subfamilies over their coding-competent relatives are poorly understood. In the first stage of my research, I analyzed regulatory sequences in an ETn LTR responsible for its high promoter activity in the undifferentiated cell line P19. I found that three GC-boxes that may function as Sp1/Sp3 binding sites act synergistically and are indispensable for undifferentiated cell-specific promoter activity of the LTR. Sp1 binding partners may be responsible for the restricted ETn expression. Moreover, I have shown that unlike many retroviruses, ETn elements possess multiple transcription initiation sites and that they have amplified via intracellular retrotransposition in the P19 teratocarcinoma cell line. In the next step of my research, I performed analysis of epigenetic mechanisms as a means of ERV suppression. Specifically, I showed that in embryonic stem cells, autonomous MusD retrotransposons are epigenetically suppressed to a greater degree than non-autonomous ETn retrotransposons, illustrated by a higher level of DNA methylation and a lower level of active histone modifications. I hypothesize that MusD elements may be silenced by DNA methylation and repressive chromatin spreading into the LTR from the CpG-rich internal retroviral sequence absent in ETn elements. I propose that internal structure largely devoid of high CG content enables ETn elements to evade host-imposed transcriptional repression, contributing to their high mutagenic activity in the mouse germline.

Long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons account for approximately 10% of mouse and 8% of human genomes and may play a role in modifying gene expression. Many species harbor retrotransposon families encompassing both autonomous and non-autonomous members. Specifically, the mouse Early Transposon (ETn) family members lack all retroviral genes but are transcriptionally and retrotranspositionally active, causing over 20 known insertional germline mutations. ETns owe their retrotransposition potential to proteins encoded by structurally intact MusD retrotransposons with whom they share LTRs. ETn elements are transcribed at a much higher level than MusD retrotransposons in embryos and undifferentiated cells, suggesting their evasion of host restriction mechanisms. However, mechanisms responsible for the replicative success of non-autonomous retrotransposon subfamilies over their coding-competent relatives are poorly understood. In the first stage of my research, I analyzed regulatory sequences in an ETn LTR responsible for its high promoter activity in the undifferentiated cell line P19. I found that three GC-boxes that may function as Sp1/Sp3 binding sites act synergistically and are indispensable for undifferentiated cell-specific promoter activity of the LTR. Sp1 binding partners may be responsible for the restricted ETn expression. Moreover, I have shown that unlike many retroviruses, ETn elements possess multiple transcription initiation sites and that they have amplified via intracellular retrotransposition in the P19 teratocarcinoma cell line. In the next step of my research, I performed analysis of epigenetic mechanisms as a means of ERV suppression. Specifically, I showed that in embryonic stem cells, autonomous MusD retrotransposons are epigenetically suppressed to a greater degree than non-autonomous ETn retrotransposons, illustrated by a higher level of DNA methylation and a lower level of active histone modifications. I hypothesize that MusD elements may be silenced by DNA methylation and repressive chromatin spreading into the LTR from the CpG-rich internal retroviral sequence absent in ETn elements. I propose that internal structure largely devoid of high CG content enables ETn elements to evade host-imposed transcriptional repression, contributing to their high mutagenic activity in the mouse germline.

Submitted by PMBqBM null (pmbqbm@ufba.br) on 2017-05-10T14:58:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Jessica Lais Almeida dos Santos _ PMBqBM-UFBA.pdf: 11654727 bytes, checksum: 40a04bbf070f4574fe0b83ce9f4ac22b (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Delba Rosa (delba@ufba.br) on 2017-07-03T15:33:25Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Jessica Lais Almeida dos Santos _ PMBqBM-UFBA.pdf: 11654727 bytes, checksum: 40a04bbf070f4574fe0b83ce9f4ac22b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-03T15:33:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Jessica Lais Almeida dos Santos _ PMBqBM-UFBA.pdf: 11654727 bytes, checksum: 40a04bbf070f4574fe0b83ce9f4ac22b (MD5) / FAPESB / O HTLV-1 (Human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus) foi o primeiro retrovírus humano a ser descrito. As principais complicações clínicas associadas ao HTLV-1 são: doenças malignas como a ATLL; síndromes inflamatórias, como a TSP/HAM; e complicações infecciosas, como a dermatite infecciosa. Estima-se que aproximadamente 15 a 20 milhões de pessoas estejam infectadas pelo HTLV em todo o mundo. Algumas áreas são, conhecidamente, endêmicas para esta infecção, sendo elas: sudoeste do Japão, África sub-Saara, regiões do Caribe, áreas localizadas no Irã e Melanésia. No Brasil, existem cerca de dois milhões de portadores do vírus. Na Bahia, estimativas indicam que a prevalência global da infecção pelo HTLV-1 na população geral de Salvador é de 1,8%. No entanto, ainda existe uma escassez de informações sobre a história evolutiva do HTLV-1 no Estado da Bahia, e a maioria dos dados sobre a epidemiologia molecular do HTLV-1 dizem respeito à isolados virais originados da cidade de Salvador, ou região metropolitana (RMS) e mais outras duas mesorregiões do estado, regiões Sul (S) e Vale do São Francisco (VSF). Em outras quatro mesorregiões nenhum outro isolado viral já foi identificado e caracterizado. Portanto, o principal objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a origem e a disseminação do HTLV-1 na Bahia. Este estudo, de corte transversal, foi desenvolvido a partir de uma amostra de conveniência, composta por 50 amostras de indivíduos, de ambos os sexos, infectados pelo HTLV-1 que nasceram e residem no estado da Bahia, separadas por mesorregiões. Outras sequências LTR do vírus já disponíveis no GenBank foram utilizadas para, perfazer o maior número possível de mesorregiões a serem investigadas. Deste modo, 78 sequências LTR do HTLV-1 foram analisadas neste estudo. Inicialmente, o DNA genômico foi extraído utilizando kit de extração e submetido à nested-PCR para a região LTR. Os produtos da PCR foram purificados e sequenciados. Das 50 amostras selecionadas para a busca pelo HTLV-1, apenas foi possível gerar 11 sequências LTR do HTLV-1, e portanto, foi possível identificar a infecção em outras duas mesorregiões: nordeste (N) e centro-sul (CS). Os cálculos de diversidade genética foram feitos utilizando o modelo de distância Tamura Nei, com suporte estatístico. Três diferentes inferências filogenéticas foram realizadas: uma análise de subtipagem das novas sequências LTR do HTLV-1, uma análise filogenética apenas com sequências de isolados virais do Subtipo a, e uma última inferência filogenética, apenas com sequências de isolados virais do Subtipo a Subgrupo Transcontinental (A). Para essas inferências utilizamos de programas de bioinformática que possibilitaram alinhamento, edição e análise das sequências geradas, bem como inferir árvores filogenéticas e predizer a taxa evolutiva destes isolados. Foi possível identificar que a mesorregião que apresenta maior diversidade genética, entre suas sequências, foi a (CS), seguida da região N, enquanto as regiões S e RMS apesentaram resultados semelhantes. A análise filogenética, para subtipagem, das novas 11 sequências LTR do HTLV-1, geradas neste trabalho, demonstrou que todas elas pertencem ao subgrupo Transcontinental (A), do subtipo Cosmopolita (a). As sequências LTR do HTLV-1 originadas da mesorregião VSF apresentaram diferentes características filogenéticas, e as sequências originadas de casos de infecção RMS tiveram uma distribuição difusa no subgrupo Transcontinental, formando grupamentos com sequências originadas de diferentes regiões do país. No entanto, 32 (74,4%) sequências, se posicionaram em clados mais ancestrais do subgrupo. Fenômeno semelhante foi observado com a distribuição das sequências originadas de casos de infecção do Sul do estado. Também, a partir desta análise, é possível observar que houve a formação de cluster único com as sequências do N e CS (Boostrap entre 50% e 74%). Todas as sequências originadas do CS mostraram proximidade filogenética com sequências do Sul do estado. O valor encontrado para a taxa evolutiva foi de 1.0 x 10-4 substituição/sítio/ano (95% IC: 4.2752E-6, 2.7948E-4). Por isso, as principais conclusões são: identificação de 11 novos isolados virais, originados de casos de infecção pelo HTLV-1 em diferentes mesorregiões do Estado da Bahia; com a caracterização filogenética, percebemos que todos pertencem ao subtipo a, subgrupo A; sendo possível identificação da presença do Subtipo a/Subgrupo A nas mesorregiões N e CS; as sequências LTR do HTLV-1, originadas de casos de infecção na mesorregião RMS, revelam características de ancestralidade destas sequências em comparação com as de outras mesorregiões, sugerindo a introdução do HTLV-1 a partir dessa mesorregião; As sequências LTR do HTLV-1, originadas de casos de infecção na mesorregião S, apresentaram características semelhantes as sequências da RMS, o que pode sugerir origem dessas sequências na RMS, ou até introduções semelhantes nestas duas mesorregiões;- proximidade filogenética das sequências LTR do HTLV-1, originadas de casos de infecção das mesorregiões N, CS e S, sugere rotas migratórias populacionais entre elas.

Submitted by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio (fiscina@bahia.fiocruz.br) on 2013-10-14T17:28:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernanda Khouri. Estudo in silico....pdf: 3863859 bytes, checksum: 34a7b6c0bc315b65207169652027de26 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-10-14T17:28:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernanda Khouri. Estudo in silico....pdf: 3863859 bytes, checksum: 34a7b6c0bc315b65207169652027de26 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil / O HTLV-1 foi o primeiro retrovírus descrito associado a doenças humanas, tais como leucemia de célula T do adulto (ATLL), paraparesia espástica tropical/mielopatia associada ao HTLV (TSP/HAM), dermatite infecciosa, entre outras. Esse retrovírus possui um genoma de RNA de fita simples, com os genes gag (grupo antigênico), env (envelope), pol (polimerase), e uma região próxima à extremidade 3' conhecida como pX. Em cada extremidade do genoma existem sequências de repetições terminais longas (LTR – long terminal repeat), que são essenciais na integração do DNA proviral ao DNA do hospedeiro, e também para a regulação transcricional do genoma do vírus. Estima-se que cerca de 5-10 milhões de pessoas estejam infectadas pelo HTLV-1 no mundo. No Brasil, presume-se que 2,5 milhões de pessoas estejam infectadas. Apesar da infecção pelo HTLV-1 ser endêmica em diferentes regiões geográficas do mundo, ainda permanece sem um método de profilaxia eficaz. Pesquisas realizadas em macacos-esquilos no Instituto Pasteur da França e no Instituto Nacional do Câncer nos EUA avaliaram a imunogenicidade e a eficácia de uma vacina contendo o gene env ou env e gag do HTLV-1. Após a vacinação e transfusão de células infectadas com o HTLV-1 todos os animais mostraram-se protegidos. Anteriormente a este estudo, pesquisadores do Instituto Nacional do Câncer, NIH-EUA, avaliaram a eficácia de um vetor vacinal derivado do vírus da varíola atenuado contendo o gene env do HTLV-1 (R-ALVAC), e após o desafio vacinal todos os animais mostraram-se protegidos. Porém, a proteção destes dois estudos não foi permanente. Entretanto, esses resultados sugerem que uma vacina anti-HTLV-1 pode ser viável e, acreditamos que a produção dessa vacina tendo como vetor um vírus persistente como o HTLV-2 pode proteger contra a infecção pelo HTLV-1. Assim, desenvolvemos em colaboração com o NIH, um vetor vacinal contendo as duas regiões LTR do HTLV-2, para serem inseridos os genes gag e env do HTLV-1 sob o controle da região 3’LTR deste vetor. Para a utilização desse vetor recombinante faz-se necessário caracterizar a região promotora do HTLV-2, avaliando assinaturas nucleotídicas presentes em diferentes subtipos, bem como a presença de motifs importantes para a expressão do vetor vacinal. Pelo exposto, o objetivo principal desse trabalho foi avaliar in silico a habilidade do vetor recombinante do HTLV-2 poder ser utilizado como vetor vacinal anti-HTLV-1. Nossos resultados revelaram que existem pequenas diferenças na região promotora dos subtipos HTLV-2a, HTLV-2b, HTLV-2c e HTLV-2d. Algumas alterações resultam em ganho ou perda de motifs importante para a regulação da transcrição gênica, como o motif E Box, presente nas sequências dos diferentes subtipos do HTLV-2 e ausente na região promotora do vetor. Entretanto, estudos sugerem que esse motif pode ser responsável pela repressão da transcrição gênica e, portanto, essa diferença encontrada entre o vetor recombinante do HTLV-2 e as diferentes sequências analisadas sugere que a transcrição gênica do vetor vacinal sem esse motif pode ser mais eficiente. Logo, o vetor recombinante do HTLV-2 pode ser utilizado como vetor vacinal anti-HTLV-1 em ensaios pré-clínicos. / The HTLV-1 was first described retroviruses associated with human diseases, such as leukemia adult T cell (ATLL), tropical spastic paraparesis / HTLV-associated myelopathy (TSP / HAM), infective dermatitis, among others. This retrovirus has a genome of single-stranded RNA, with the genes gag (group antigen), env (envelope), pol (polymerase), and a region near the 3 'end known as pX. At each end of the genome are sequences of long terminal repeat (LTR) that are essential for the integration of the proviral DNA in the host DNA and also for the transcriptional regulation of the virus genome. It is estimated that about 5-10 million people are infected with HTLV-1 worldwide. In Brazil, it is assumed that 2.5 million people are infected. Despite the HTLV-1 is endemic in different geographic regions of the world still remains without an effective method of prophylaxis. Research conducted in squirrel monkeys at the Pasteur Institute in France and the National Cancer Institute in the USA evaluated the immunogenicity and efficacy of a vaccine containing the env gene or env and gag of HTLV-1. After vaccination and transfusion of infected cells with HTLV-1 all animals were shown to be protected. Prior to this study, researchers from the National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA, evaluated the efficacy of a vector vaccine derived from attenuated smallpox virus containing the env gene of HTLV-1 (R-ALVAC) and after challenge all animals were shown to be protected. However, the protection of these two studies was not permanent. At the same time, these results suggest that a vaccine anti-HTLV-1 may be feasible and we believe that the production of this vaccine as a vector having one persistent virus as HTLV-2 can protect against HTLV-1 infection. Thus, we developed in collaboration with the NIH, a vector vaccine containing the two LTR of HTLV-2, that will be inserted the env and gag genes of HTLV-1. To use this recombinant vector is necessary characterize the promoter region of HTLV-2, evaluating nucleotide signatures present in different subtypes, as well as the presence of motifs important for the expression vector vaccine. For these reasons, the aim of this study was to evaluate in silico the ability of recombinant vector of HTLV-2 be able to be used as a vector vaccine anti-HTLV-1. Our results reveal that there are small differences in the promoter region of HTLV-2a, HTLV-2b, HTLV-2c and HTLV-2d. Some changes results in loss or gain of motifs important for regulation of gene transcription, such as the E box motif present in the sequences of the different subtypes of HTLV-2 and absent in the promoter region of the vector. However, studies suggest that this motif can be responsible for the repression of gene transcription, and therefore this difference found between the recombinant vector of HTLV-2 and different sequences suggested that the analyzed gene transcription vector vaccine without this motif can be more efficient . Therefore, the recombinant vector HTLV-2 can be used in preclinical trials as a vaccine vector for HTLV- 1.

Long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons account for approximately 10% of mouse and 8% of human genomes and may play a role in modifying gene expression. Many species harbor retrotransposon families encompassing both autonomous and non-autonomous members. Specifically, the mouse Early Transposon (ETn) family members lack all retroviral genes but are transcriptionally and retrotranspositionally active, causing over 20 known insertional germline mutations. ETns owe their retrotransposition potential to proteins encoded by structurally intact MusD retrotransposons with whom they share LTRs. ETn elements are transcribed at a much higher level than MusD retrotransposons in embryos and undifferentiated cells, suggesting their evasion of host restriction mechanisms. However, mechanisms responsible for the replicative success of non-autonomous retrotransposon subfamilies over their coding-competent relatives are poorly understood. In the first stage of my research, I analyzed regulatory sequences in an ETn LTR responsible for its high promoter activity in the undifferentiated cell line P19. I found that three GC-boxes that may function as Sp1/Sp3 binding sites act synergistically and are indispensable for undifferentiated cell-specific promoter activity of the LTR. Sp1 binding partners may be responsible for the restricted ETn expression. Moreover, I have shown that unlike many retroviruses, ETn elements possess multiple transcription initiation sites and that they have amplified via intracellular retrotransposition in the P19 teratocarcinoma cell line. In the next step of my research, I performed analysis of epigenetic mechanisms as a means of ERV suppression. Specifically, I showed that in embryonic stem cells, autonomous MusD retrotransposons are epigenetically suppressed to a greater degree than non-autonomous ETn retrotransposons, illustrated by a higher level of DNA methylation and a lower level of active histone modifications. I hypothesize that MusD elements may be silenced by DNA methylation and repressive chromatin spreading into the LTR from the CpG-rich internal retroviral sequence absent in ETn elements. I propose that internal structure largely devoid of high CG content enables ETn elements to evade host-imposed transcriptional repression, contributing to their high mutagenic activity in the mouse germline. / Medicine, Faculty of / Medical Genetics, Department of / Graduate

This research focuses on non-Long Terminal Repeat (non-LTR) retrotransposons in the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae and other mosquito species. An unprecedented diversity of non-LTRs was discovered by genome analysis of the An. gambiae genome assembly. One hundred and four families were found by a reiterative and comprehensive search using the conserved reverse transcriptase domains of known non-LTRs from a number of organisms as the starting queries. These families range in copy number from a few to approximately 2000 and occupy at least 3% of the genome. An. gambiae non-LTRs represent 8 of the 15 previously defined clades, plus two novel clades, Loner and Outcast, raising the total number of known clades to 17. The first invertebrate L1 clade representatives were also found. All clades except one have families with sequence characteristics suggesting recent activity. Juan, a non-LTR of the Jockey clade originally discovered in the mosquito Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus (Mouches et al. 1991), has been implicated in horizontal transfer in three non-sibling species of the Aedes genus (Mouches, Bensaadi, and Salvado 1992). PCR was used to obtain sequences from 18 mosquito species of six genera. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrates predominant vertical inheritance of Juan elements among these species. There is strong evidence from sequence analysis supporting the recent activity of Juan in several divergent species. We hypothesize that the sustained activity (versus quick inactivation) of non-LTRs in mosquitoes may contribute to the diversity we observe in the An. gambiae genome today. Promoter and transcriptional analyses were performed for several families previously identified as potentially active elements based on sequence analysis. RT-PCR results indicate that transcripts are present in An. gambiae cell lines that contain sequences corresponding to 13 of 15 tested non-LTR families. The 5' UTRs of An. gambiae non-LTRs from the I, Jockey, and L1 clades support basal transcription in divergent mosquito cell lines from 3 species. The Jen-1 5'UTR did not support transcription in Ae. aegypti and had low activity in Ae. albopictus. In summary, this research shows that Non-LTRs have been highly successful genomic elements that have flourished in many divergent mosquito species. / Ph. D.

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) establishes a persistent proviral reservoir by integrating into the genome of infected host cells. Current antiretroviral treatments (ART) do not target this persistent population of proviruses which include latently infected cells that upon treatment interruption can be reactivated to contribute to HIV-1 rebound. Deep sequencing of persistent HIV-1 proviruses has revealed that greater than 90% of integrated HIV-1 genomes are defective and unable to produce infectious virions. We hypothesized that intragenic elements in the HIV genome support transcription of aberrant HIV-1 RNAs from defective proviruses that lack long terminal repeats (LTRs). Using an intact provirus detection assay, I observed that resting CD4+ T cells and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) are biased towards generating defective HIV-1 proviruses. Multiplex reverse transcription droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (RT-ddPCR) identified env and nef transcripts which lacked 5’ untranslated regions (UTR) in acutely infected CD4+ T cells and MDMs indicating transcripts are generated that do not utilize the promoter within the LTR. 5’UTR-deficient env transcripts were also identified in a cohort of people living with HIV-1 (PLWH) on ART, suggesting that these aberrant RNAs are produced in vivo. Using 5’ rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE), I mapped the start site of these transcripts within the Env gene. This region bound several cellular transcription factors and functioned as a transcriptional regulatory element that could support transcription and translation of downstream HIV-1 RNAs. Transient expression of an HIV-1 5’UTR deletion construct in HEK293T cells demonstrated that HIV-1 transcripts and proteins are still produced when the 5’UTR is absent. These studies provide mechanistic insights into how defective HIV-1 proviruses are persistently expressed to potentially drive inflammation in PLWH.