A novel Australian flying-fox retrovirus shares an evolutionary ancestor with Koala, Gibbon and Melomys gamma-retroviruses

Abstract

A novel gamma-retroviral sequence (7912 bp), inclusive of both partial 5′ and 3′ long terminal repeat regions, was identified from the brain of a black flying-fox (Pteropus alecto), Queensland, Australia. The sequence was distinct from other retroviral sequences identified in bats and showed greater identity to Koala, Gibbon ape leukaemia, Melomys burtoni and Woolly monkey retroviruses, forming their own phylogenetic clade. This finding suggests that these retroviruses may have an unknown common ancestor and that further investigation into the diversity of gamma-retroviruses in Australian Pteropus species may elucidate their evolutionary origins.