Murine leukemia virus sequences are encoded in the murine major histocompatibility complex

The studies reported here localize murine leukemia viral sequences to the TL region of the major histocompatibility complex, H-2. We examined a battery of 38 cosmids, isolated from two large genomic libraries constructed from C57BL/10 spleen DNA, that define 25 class I gene sequences. The viral probes used hybridized with only four cosmids, containing overlapping mouse sequences, that define four class I gene-related sequences in a region of 90 kilobases of DNA. The data show that two distinct viral envelope sequences are contained in the cluster. One of these sequences is situated with its 3' end next to the 3' end of a class I sequence. The other sequence, which does not contain the entire viral envelope, is proximal to the 3' end of a different class I sequence. Hybridization of the viral probes with the H-2 cosmid clones does not appear to be due to homology between viral and H-2 sequences. Rather, the viral sequences detected appear to be linked to or inserted amid class I genes. These findings may be significant in understanding molecular mechanisms involved in the generation of H-2 class I gene diversity.