Enhancer adoption by an LTR retrotransposon generates viral-like particles, causing developmental limb phenotypes - Nature Genetics

Activation of an LTR retrotransposon inserted upstream of the Fgf8 gene produces viral-like particles in the mouse developing limb, triggering apoptosis and causing limb malformation. This phenotype can be rescued by mutations in the retrotransposon coding sequence.

Nature
#introduction I am a staff scientist at Pasteur Institute in Paris where I study viruses using structural biology approaches, X-ray crystallography and now expanding to cryo-EM. I'm especially curious about the ancient viruses that like to linger and co-evolve with us #herpesviruses #foamyviruses #ERVs, and what we can learn from them in terms of entry mechanisms and origins of the proteins involved in entry. I also like to follow how deep learning methods can help structural biology.