Syncytins are fusogenic envelope (env) genes of retroviral origin that have been captured for a function in placentation. Syncytins have been identified in Euarchontoglires (primates, rodents, Leporidae) and Laurasiatheria (Carnivora, ruminants) placental mammals. Here, we searched for similar genes in species that retained characteristic features of primitive mammals, namely the Malagasy and mainland African Tenrecidae. They belong to the superorder Afrotheria, an early lineage that diverged from Euarchotonglires and Laurasiatheria 100 Mya, during the Cretaceous terrestrial revolution. An in silico search for env genes with full coding capacity within a Tenrecidae genome identified several candidates, with one displaying placenta-specific expression as revealed by RT-PCR analysis of a large panel of Setifer setosus tissues. Cloning of this endogenous retroviral env gene demonstrated fusogenicity in an ex vivo cell-cell fusion assay on a panel of mammalian cells. Refined analysis of placental architecture and ultrastructure combined with in situ hybridization demonstrated specific expression of the gene in multinucleate cellular masses and layers at the materno-fetal interface, consistent with a role in syncytium formation. This gene, which we named "syncytin-Ten1," is conserved among Tenrecidae, with evidence of purifying selection and conservation of fusogenic activity. To our knowledge, it is the first syncytin identified to date within the ancestrally diverged Afrotheria superorder.endogenous retrovirus | envelope protein | syncytiotrophoblast | feto-maternal interface | placenta evolution T he syncytins are genes of retroviral origin that have been co-opted by their host for a function in placentation. They correspond to the envelope (env) gene of ancestral retroviruses that entered the germ line of evolutionarily distant animals and were endogenized (reviewed in refs. 1 and 2). Two such genes, syncytin-1 (3, 4) and syncytin-2 (5, 6), have been identified in simians, and distinct, unrelated ones, syncytin-A and -B (7), have been identified in muroid rodents, syncytin-Ory1 (8) in leporids, syncytin-Car1 (9) in carnivorans, and more recently, syncytinRum1 (10) in ruminants. Their canonical characteristic features leading to their designation as "syncytins" comprise (i) placentaspecific expression, (ii) cell-cell fusion activity, and (iii) conservation during the evolution of mammalian species for extended periods of time (e.g., >10 million years). Syncytin proteins are expected to participate in the formation of the placental syncytiotrophoblast (ST) at the maternal-fetal interface via fusion of the mononucleate cytotrophoblasts (CTs). Some of them also possess an immunosuppressive activity, as classically observed for infectious retroviral envelope glycoproteins, which may be involved in maternal-fetal tolerance (11). Recently, the direct involvement of syncytins in placentation has been demonstrated unambiguously through the generation of knockout mice for syncytin-A and -B (12, 13), whose embryonic placent...

Retroviruses enter host cells through the interaction of their envelope (Env) protein with a cell surface receptor, which triggers the fusion of viral and cellular membranes. The sodium-dependent neutral amino acid transporter ASCT2 is the common receptor of the large RD114 retrovirus interference group, whose members display frequent env recombination events. Germ line retrovirus infections have led to numerous inherited endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) in vertebrate genomes, which provide useful insights into the coevolutionary history of retroviruses and their hosts. Rare ERV-derived genes display conserved viral functions, as illustrated by the fusogenic syncytin env genes involved in placentation. Here, we searched for functional env genes in the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) genome and identified dasy-env1.1, which clusters with RD114 interference group env genes and with two syncytin genes sharing ASCT2 receptor usage. Using ex vivo pseudotyping and cell-cell fusion assays, we demonstrated that the Dasy-Env1.1 protein is fusogenic and can use both human and armadillo ASCT2s as receptors. This gammaretroviral env gene belongs to a provirus with betaretrovirus-like features, suggesting acquisition through recombination. Provirus insertion was found in several Dasypus species, where it has not reached fixation, whereas related family members integrated before diversification of the genus Dasypus >12 million years ago (Mya). This newly described ERV lineage is potentially useful as a population genetic marker. Our results extend the usage of ASCT2 as a retrovirus receptor to the mammalian clade Xenarthra and suggest that the acquisition of an ASCT2-interacting env gene is a major selective force driving the emergence of numerous chimeric viruses in vertebrates. IMPORTANCE Retroviral infection is initiated