Is there a role for endogenous retroviruses to mediate long-term adaptive phenotypic response upon environmental inputs?

ABSTRACT: Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are long terminal repeat-containing virus-like elements that have colonized approximately 10 per cent of the present day mammalian genomes. The intracisternal A particles (IAPs) are a class of ERVs that is currently highly active in the rodents. IAP elements can influence the transcription profile of nearby genes by providing functional promoter elements and modulating local epigenetic landscape through changes in DNA methylation and histone (H3K9) modifications. Despite the potential role for IAPs in gene regulation, the precise genomic locations where these elements are integrated are not well understood. To address this issue, we have identified more than 400 novel IAP insertion sites within/near annotated genes by searching the murine genome, which sugges

SUBMITTER: Sharif J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3539365 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature