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TRANSPOSON ABUNDANCE. "Not only do TEs "jump," but they are also found in almost all organisms (both prokaryotes and eukaryotes) and typically in large numbers. For example, TEs make up approximately 50% of the human genome and up to 90% of the maize genome." https://lnkd.in/GEpmJN View in LinkedIn

ZOMBIE GRAVEYARD. "Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are normal components of the human genome. They are thought to be remnants of ancient germ line infections by exogenous retroviruses." https://lnkd.in/bNEJmbG View in LinkedIn

READ CAREFULLY. "It turns out that the human genome contains segments of DNA that match pol, env, and gag. Lots of them. Scientists have identified 100,000 pieces of retrovirus DNA in our genes, making up eight percent of the human genome. That’s a huge portion of our DNA when you consider that protein coding genes make up just over one percent of the genome." https://lnkd.in/b3zUsU5 View in LinkedIn

VIRAL ARCHAELOLOGY. "The human genome is estimated to contain tens of thousands of copies of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) and related sequences, accounting for ∼8% of its sequence content." https://lnkd.in/eW3mbzE View in LinkedIn

RETROVIRUS. "Retroviridae is a family of enveloped viruses that replicate in a host cell through the process of reverse transcription. A retrovirus is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus with a DNA intermediate and, as an obligate parasite, targets a host cell. Once inside the host cell cytoplasm, the virus uses its own reverse transcriptase enzyme to produce DNA from its RNA genome — the reverse of the usual pattern, thus retro (backwards)." https://lnkd.in/e3SryN4 View in LinkedIn

POST GENOME. "The last 15 years have seen a huge accumulation of data regarding retroviruses and the sequence and structure of their genomes and proteins." https://lnkd.in/eBisbvi View in LinkedIn

DARK MATTER. "Despite being ubiquitous, viruses are often called the dark matter of biology as their influence frequently goes unnoticed." https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27384-virus-hiding-in-our-genome-protects-early-human-embryos/ View in LinkedIn

THE BOSS. "We are creatures controlled by viruses." https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27384-virus-hiding-in-our-genome-protects-early-human-embryos/ View in LinkedIn

STABILITY. "Because transposon movement can be destructive, it is not surprising that most of the transposon sequences in the human genome are silent, thus allowing this genome to remain relatively stable, despite the prevalence of TEs. In fact, investigators think that of the 17% of the human genome that is encoded by L1-related sequences, only about 100 active L1 elements remain." http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/transposons-the-jumping-genes-518 View in LinkedIn

MECHANISM. "Some silenced TEs are inactive because they have mutations that affect their ability to move from one chromosomal location to another; others are perfectly intact and capable of moving but are kept inactive by epigenetic defense mechanisms such as DNA methylation, chromatin remodeling, and miRNAs." http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/transposons-the-jumping-genes-518 View in LinkedIn