PLOS BiologyYung-Heng Chang & @Joshdubnau explore a #plosbiology study revealing that the #retrotransposon gag protein of Copia forms virus-like capsids that transfer its own RNA across the fly neuromuscular junction to regulate #synapse formation Paper: https://plos.io/3X71IDa Primer: https://plos.io/4i6rzmC
Capsid transfer of the retrotransposon Copia controls structural synaptic plasticity in Drosophila
Transposons are parasitic genome elements that serve as raw material for the evolution of new cellular functions. In this study, the capsid of the virus-derived retrotransposon Copia is shown to mediate synaptic plasticity at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction.