Characterization of a molecularly cloned retroviral sequence associated with Fv-4 resistance

The murine leukemia virus (MuLV) sequence associated with the resistance allele of the Fv-4 gene (Fv-4r) was molecularly cloned from genomic DNA of uninfected mice carrying this allele. The 5.2-kilobase cloned EcoRI DNA fragment (pFv4) was shown by nucleotide sequencing to contain 3.4 kilobases of a colinear MuLV-related proviral sequence which began in the C-terminal end of the pol region and extended through the env region and the 3' long terminal repeat. Cellular sequences flanked the 3' as well as the 5' ends of the truncated MuLV sequence. Alignment of the N-terminal half of the pFv4 env sequence with ecotropic, mink cell focus-forming, and xenotropic MuLV env sequences established the relatedness of pFv4 and ecotropic MuLV env sequences. A subcloned 700-base pair segment (pFv4env) from the 5' env region of pFv4 was used as an Fv-4-specific probe; it hybridized specifically to the Fv-4r-associated proviral sequence but not to endogenous ecotropic MuLV proviral DNA under high stringency. All Fv-4-resistant mice contained the same retroviral segment associated with the same flanking cellular DNA. Expression of Fv-4r-specific mRNA was demonstrated in the spleens of Fv-4r mice but not Fv-4s mice, supporting the previously proposed resistance model based on interference.