The Genus Alpharetrovirus contains viruses pathogenic mainly for chickens, forming the Avian Sarcoma and Leukosis Virus group (ASLV). Cells of most Galliform species, besides chickens, contain genetic elements (endogenous retroviruses, ERVs) that could recombine with other alpharetroviruses or express proteins, complementing defective ASLV, which may successfully replicate and cause disease. However, they are quite unknown, and only ALV-F, from ring-necked pheasants, has been partially published. Upon scrutiny of 53 genomes of different avian species, we found Alpharetrovirus-like sequences only in 12 different Galliformes, including six full-length (7.4-7.6 Kbp) and 27 partial sequences. Phylogenetic studies of the regions studied (LTR, gag, pol, and env) consistently resulted in five almost identical clades containing the same ERVs: Clade I (presently known ASLVs); Clade II (Callipepla spp. ERVs); Clade IIIa (Phasianus colchicus ERVs); Clade IIIb (Alectoris spp. ERVs); and Clade IV (Centrocercus spp. ERVs). The low pol identity scores suggested that each of these Clades may be considered a different species. ORF analysis revealed that putatively encoded proteins would be very similar in length and domains to those of other alpharetroviruses and thus potentially functional. This will undoubtedly contribute to better understanding the biology of defective viruses, especially in wild Galliformes, their evolution, and the danger they may represent for other wild species and the poultry industry.
Keywords: Alpharetrovirus; Avian Leukosis Virus (ALV); ERVs; Galliformes; endogenous viruses; phylogenetics.