Structural variation occurs in the genomes of individuals because of the different positions occupied by repetitive genome elements like endogenous retroviruses, or ERVs. The presence or absence of ERVs can be determined by identifying the junction with the host genome using high-throughput sequence technology and a clustering algorithm. The resulting data give the number of sequence reads assi...

Albino and hooded (or piebald) rats are one of the most frequently used laboratory animals for the past 150 years. Despite this fact, the origin of the albino mutation as well as the genetic basis of the hooded phenotype remained unclear. Recently, the albino mutation has been identified as the Arg299His missense mutation in the Tyrosinase gene and the hooded (H) locus has been mapped to the ∼4...

We investigated the proportions of mono vs. mixed infections for human metapneumovirus (hMPV) as compared to adenovirus (ADV), four types of coronavirus (CRV), parainfluenza virus (PIV), RSV, and enterovirus/rhinovirus (ERV) in Alberta, Canada. Using the Data Integration for Alberta Laboratories (DIAL) platform, 26,226 respiratory specimens at ProvLab between 1 July 2009 and 30 June 2012 were s...

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) appear to have a particular predilection for placentas: retroviral genes have repeatedly been coopted for placental functions. In this issue, Chuong draws attention to the important contribution of retroviral promoters in rewiring placental development [1]. He proposes that trophoblast cells provide a permissive epigenetic environment for ERV activity because plac...

OBJECTIVES We compared the performance of commonly used Dacron versus flocked nylon swabs for anal cytology. STUDY DESIGN From 23 HIV-positive men screened at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco (San Francisco, Calif., USA), 2 anal specimens were collected, 1 with each swab in random order, and placed into liquid cytology medium. Specimens were tested for cellularity by quantifying a genomic DNA ...

When endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) or other transposable elements (TEs) insert into an intron, the consequence on gene transcription can range from negligible to a complete ablation of normal transcripts. With the advance of sequencing technology, more and more insertionally polymorphic or private TE insertions are being identified in humans and mice, of which some could have a significant imp...

Human endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) represent 8% of the total human genome. Although the majority of these ancient proviral sequences have only retained non-coding long terminal repeats (LTRs), a number of "endogenized" retroviral genes encode functional proteins. Previous studies have underlined the implication of these ERV-derived proteins in the development and the function of the placenta....

Transposable elements, including endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), constitute a large fraction of the mammalian genome. They are transcriptionally silenced during early development to protect genome integrity and aberrant transcription. However, the mechanisms that control their repression are not fully understood. To systematically study ERV repression, we carried out an RNAi screen in mouse emb...

The genomes of modern humans are riddled with thousands of endogenous retroviruses (HERVs), the proviral remnants of ancient viral infections of the primate lineage. Most HERVs are nonfunctional, selectively neutral loci. This fact, coupled with their sheer abundance in primate genomes, makes HERVs ideal for exploitation as phylogenetic markers. Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) provide phylogenet...

Endogenous retrovirus (ERV) sequences have been found in all mammals. In vitro and in vivo experiments revealed ERV activation and cross-species infection in several species. Sheep (Ovis aries) are used for various biotechnological purposes; however, they have not yet been comprehensively screened for ERV sequences. Therefore, the aim of the study was to classify the ERV sequences in the ovine ...