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ROLE OF VIRAL JUMPING GENES. “Furthermore, transposable element activity can mediate genomic rearrangements, which may be regulated by epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation and histone modification.” https://lnkd.in/eC8eb-V View in LinkedIn

TWO CANDIDATE MECHANISMS. “Although the underlying mechanisms remain unknown, candidate mechanisms can be assigned, as genome integrity depends on the repair of double strand DNA breaks and mitotic and meiotic recombination, complex processes that are highly linked.” https://lnkd.in/eC8eb-V View in LinkedIn

NEW VIEWPOINT. “We postulate that genomic rearrangements are a driver of adaptation in organisms that are not engaged in conventional sex.” https://lnkd.in/eC8eb-V View in LinkedIn

HUGE IMPACT. "Since persistence is always regulated, it is a mostly silent state in which reactivation is tightly linked to host (reproductive) biology with big consequences to host and virus fitness." http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apm.12485/full View in LinkedIn

ASSUMPTION BUSTING. “With these alternative modes of reproduction in mind, one can wonder whether genuinely asexual, and truly clonal, fungal species really exist.” https://lnkd.in/eC8eb-V View in LinkedIn

PURIFYING SELECTION. "In recent years, substantial empirical evidence has arisen, suggesting that these effects may be pervasive in humans and other organisms." https://lnkd.in/dy3iVS5 View in LinkedIn

DIVERSITY REDUCTION. "Purifying selection at many linked sites alters patterns of molecular evolution, reducing overall diversity and distorting the shapes of genealogies." https://lnkd.in/dy3iVS5 View in LinkedIn

"PURIFYING selection acts to remove deleterious mutations, and variation linked to these mutations, as they continually arise in a population. This leads to reduced genetic diversity at both selected sites and linked neutral sites. This effect, known as background selection, can significantly affect the patterns of diversity evident in sequence data." https://lnkd.in/dy3iVS5 View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS this two weekend glimpse into the impact of viruses on evolution. The impact of viruses on human evolution specifically, is the subject of a book by Lluis Villareal cited herein, written for the interested non-virologist, and a fascinating read. Future research will undoubtedly reveal more about these curious creatures that have so closely co-evolved with life. https://lnkd.in/dsD6pVn View in LinkedIn

MITOCHONDRIAL LINK. “The fact, that the virus EsV-1 channel is associated with the mitochondria, suggests that this channel protein acquired domains that sort the protein to this organelle. The competition for the right molecular sorting machinery must have affected the evolution of this protein. Since the EsV-1 protein is in the mitochondria, this channel might be part of an early anti-apoptotic system important for viral persistence.” https://lnkd.in/dsexZC2 View in LinkedIn