source: Phys.org

The co-option between viruses and humans plays important roles during human evolution. Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), belonging to long terminal repeat retrotransposons, are a relic of ancient retroviral infection, fixed in the genome during evolution, comprising about 8% of the human genome. As a result of evolutionary pressure, most human ERVs (HERVs) accumulate mutations and deletions. Moreover, these enemies from ancient times are strictly repressed by host mechanisms such as epigenetic regulation. Read Full Article Here