Identification of a syncytin gene in a non-rodent laboratory mammal, Suncus murinus

An endogenous retrovirus-derived membrane protein, syncytin (SYN), contributes to placental function via trophoblast fusion. Multinuclear trophoblasts (syncytiotrophoblasts) physically and functionally mediate the interaction between fetal and maternal vessels in various ways. Suncus murinus (suncus) is a small mammalian species with a pregnancy duration of approximately 30 days, 1.5 times longer than mice. However, the molecular basis for the longer pregnancy duration is unknown. In this study, we first isolated two genes that encoded putative SYN proteins expressed in the suncus placenta, which were named syncytin-1-like proteins 1 and 2 (SYN1L1 and SYN1L2). When their expression vectors were introduced into cultured cells, suncus SYN1L2 was found to be active in cell fusion. Moreover, the SYN1L2 protein was homologous to a SYN1-like protein identified in greater mouse-eared bats (bat SYN1L) and was structurally compared with bat SYN1L and other SYN proteins, implying the presence of structural features of the SYN1L2 protein.