Unexpected Viral "Fossils" Found in Vertebrate Genomes
PHILADELPHIA (July 29, 2010) – Over millions of years of evolution, retroviruses, which insert their genetic material into the host genome as part of their replication, have left behind numerous bits of their genetic material in vertebrate genomes. Now, in an unexpected discovery, a team of researchers reports that human and other vertebrate genomes also contain many ancient sequences from two deadly virus families.