{"doi":"10.1101/2021.11.23.469668","title":"A bioactive phlebovirus-like envelope protein in a hookworm endogenous retrovirus","abstract":"Abstract Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), accounting for 14% of our genome, serve as a genetic reservoir from which new genes can emerge. Nematode ERVs are particularly diverse and informative of retrovirus evolution. We identify Atlas virus – a novel, intact ERV in the human hookworm Ancylostoma ceylanicum with an envelope protein genetically related to G N -G C glycoproteins from phleboviruses. A cryo-EM structure of Atlas G C reveals a class II viral membrane fusion protein fold not previously seen in retroviruses. Atlas G C has the structural hallmarks of an active fusogen. Atlas G C trimers insert into membranes with endosomal lipid compositions and low pH. When expressed on the plasma membrane, Atlas G C has cell-cell fusion activity. Atlas virus is transcriptionally active at specific stages of hookworm development. The preserved activities and expression pattern of Atlas G C suggest it has acquired a cellular function. Our work reveals an unexpected degree of structural and genetic plasticity in retroviruses.","journal":"bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)","year":2021,"id":222056,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":1,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9573,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2021-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":738876,"name":"Carlos P. Mata","orcid":"0000-0003-3381-7431","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":822718,"name":"Yangci Liu","orcid":"0000-0001-8843-3529","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":823215,"name":"Haoming Zhai","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":822719,"name":"Anna V. Protasio","orcid":"0000-0003-1723-800X","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":822720,"name":"Yorgo Modis","orcid":"0000-0002-6084-0429","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":822717,"name":"Monique Merchant","orcid":"0000-0002-6783-7193","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":98,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-18T23:53:59.302331Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}