Genome complexity: ancient virus insertions (Introduction)

by David Turell @, Wednesday, November 16, 2022, 15:52 (498 days ago) @ David Turell

Old viruses hiding in our DNA:

https://www.sci.news/genetics/human-genome-retroviruses-11332.html

"Like modern HIV, ancient human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) had to insert their genetic material into their host’s genome to replicate.

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"There are around 30 different kinds of HERVs in people today, amounting to over 60,000 proviruses in the human genome.

"They demonstrate the long history of the many pandemics humanity has been subjected to over the course of evolution.

"Scientists think these viruses once widely infected the population, since they have become fixed in not only the human genome but also in chimpanzee, gorilla and other primate genomes.

"Research has demonstrated that HERV genes are active in diseased tissue, such as tumors, as well as during human embryonic development. But how active HERV genes are in healthy tissue was still largely unknown.

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"The fact that thousands of pieces of ancient viruses still exist in the human genome and can even create protein has drawn a considerable amount of attention from researchers, particularly since related viruses still active today can cause breast cancer and AIDS-like disease in animals.

"Whether the genetic remnants of human endogenous retroviruses can cause disease in people is still under study.

"Researchers have spotted viruslike particles from HML-2 in cancer cells, and the presence of HERV genetic material in diseased tissue has been associated with conditions such as Lou Gehrig’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, as well as multiple sclerosis and even schizophrenia.

"The new study adds a new angle to these data by showing that HERV genes are present even in healthy tissue.

"This means that the presence of HERV RNA may not be enough to connect the virus to a disease.

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"The most famous HERV embedded in human and animal genomes, syncytin, is a gene derived from an ancient retrovirus that plays an important role in the formation of the placenta.

"Pregnancy in all mammals is dependent on the virus-derived protein coded in this gene.

"Similarly, mice, cats and sheep also found a way to use endogenous retroviruses to protect themselves against the original ancient virus that created them.

"While these embedded viral genes are unable to use their host’s machinery to create a full virus, enough of their damaged pieces circulate in the body to interfere with the replication cycle of their ancestral virus if the host encounters it.

"Scientists theorize that one HERV may have played this protective role in people millions of years ago.

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"The new study reveals a level of HERV activity in the human body that was previously unknown, raising as many questions as it answered.

"There is still much to learn about the ancient viruses that linger in the human genome, including whether their presence is beneficial and what mechanism drives their activity.

"Seeing if any of these genes are actually made into proteins will also be important.

"Answering these questions could reveal previously unknown functions for these ancient viral genes and better help researchers understand how the human body reacts to evolution alongside these vestiges of ancient pandemics."

Comment: this is a discovery with still unknown meaning. It shows we were previously infected with pandemics and may have affected our evolution. Considering the issue of theodicy and 'nasty' viruses, we do not know how these guys fit. From a design standpoint, God may have used viruses to edit DNA changes. Time will tell.


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