The Evolution of Endogenous Viral Elements

• Published in: Cell host & microbe Vol. 10; no. 4; pp. 368 - 377
• Main Author: Holmes, Edward C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 20.10.2011
• Subjects: Biological Evolution; developmental stages; DNA; DNA, Viral - genetics; Endogenous Retroviruses - genetics; genome; hosts; phylogeny; Retroviridae; Review; RNA; RNA Viruses - genetics; ssDNA viruses; Virus Integration; viruses

Endogenous retroviruses are a common component of the eukaryotic genome, and their evolution and potential function have attracted considerable interest. More surprising was the recent discovery that eukaryotic genomes contain sequences from RNA viruses that have no DNA stage in their life cycle. Si...