Young KRAB-zinc finger gene clusters are highly dynamic incubators of ERV-driven genetic heterogeneity in mice.

ABSTRACT: KRAB-zinc finger proteins (KZFPs) comprise the largest family of mammalian transcription factors, rapidly evolving within and between species. Most KZFPs in human and mice have been found to repress endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) and other retrotransposons, with KZFP gene numbers correlating with the ERV load across species, suggesting coevolution. Whether new KZFPs emerge in response to ERV invasions is currently unknown. Using a combination of long-read sequencing technologies and genome assembly, we present a detailed comparative analysis of young KZFP gene clusters in the mouse lineage, which has undergone recent KZFP gene expansion and ERV infiltration. Detailed annotation of KZFP genes in a cluster on Mus musculus Chromosome 4 reveals parallel expansion and diversification of this lo

SUBMITTER: Bruno M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12575710 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature