They resemble remnants
of ancient viruses that have inserted themselves into their host DNA.
VlincRNAs found in these two types of cells tend to be expressed based upon genetic signals
from ancient viruses that invaded our ancestors» genome millions of years ago and were gradually «domesticated» over evolutionary time.
The study, «VlincRNAs controlled by retroviral elements are a hallmark of pluripotency and cancer» found that novel non-coding parts of the human genome known as vlincRNAs (very long intergenic, non-coding RNAs) triggered
by ancient viruses, participate in the biology of stem cells, and in the development of cancer.
Certain types of vlincRNAs, especially those triggered by the signals from
domesticated ancient viruses, are seen at specific stages of normal development.
In the mere year and a half since Bradfordcoccus's true identity was revealed, more genetically distinct and
extremely ancient viruses have been found.
The find highlights
how ancient viruses can more easily be identified by their proteins than their more commonly studied nucleic acids, such as DNA or RNA.
Its targets, fortunately, are amoebae, but the researchers suggest that as Earth's ice melts, this could trigger the return of
other ancient viruses, with potential risks for human health.
Claverie and Abergel are concerned that rising global temperatures, along with mining and drilling operations in the Arctic, could thaw out many
more ancient viruses that are still infectious and that could conceivably pose a threat to human health.
Why We Should Be Worried
About Ancient Viruses Infecting Power Plants (Motherboard) A nuclear power plant infected by a virus sounds like something from a movie.
GENES
from ancient viruses may be an essential component of mammalian reproduction, helping the placenta to establish itself in the womb, suggest biologists in California.
Our DNA is littered with the absorbed remnants
of ancient viruses, which normally are considered little more than genomic junk.
Once they observed P. sibericum replicating in its new host, they knew
the ancient virus was still viable.
«
Ancient viruses that function in early human development may play role in cancer.»
Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear / Schepens Eye Research Institute have reconstructed
an ancient virus that is highly effective at delivering gene therapies to the liver, muscle, and retina.
«Recovering nucleic acids from
ancient viruses is extremely difficult and plagued by contamination,» notes Angelique Corthals, a forensic anthropologist at the City University of New York in New York City, who was not involved in the study.
Most of the remainder was dismissed as «junk DNA,» a term coined in 1972 by the Japanese geneticist Susumu Ohno to capture the notion that most of our DNA is effectively useless, the remains of
ancient viruses or now - defunct genes.
Remnants of
ancient viruses, which make up about 8 percent of the human genome, are not just silent hitchhikers.
Called human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs), the vast majority of
these ancient viruses are no longer functional.
An ancient virus that likely infected one of our primate ancestors 50 million years ago may contribute to the nervous system damage that causes multiple sclerosis (MS).
These ancient virus - like genes begin to leapfrog around the egg's DNA, thereby producing new mutations, just as transposon movement causes color mutations in ears of corn.
The team mapped
the ancient virus to a 20th - century strain, and found another surprise: The two strains had less genetic diversity than expected, finding a recent common ancestor around 1580.
Q: In Darwin's Radio, you wrote about the evolution of a new human species that is triggered by an HERV, or Human Endogenous Retrovirus — which, if I understand correctly, is a kind of
ancient virus that has entered into human DNA and persisted there in a dormant state for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years.
What lies beneath:
Ancient viruses, exploding sinkholes & the permafrost melt (VIDEO)-- RT Viral.