Identification, characterization, and comparative genomic distribution of the HERV-K (HML-2) group of human endogenous retroviruses

Subramanian, Ravi P; Wildschutte, Julia H; Russo, Crystal; Coffin, John M

doi:10.1186/1742-4690-8-90

Identification, characterization, and comparative genomic distribution of the HERV-K (HML-2) group of human endogenous retroviruses

Background Integration of retroviral DNA into a germ cell may lead to a provirus that is transmitted vertically to that host's offspring as an endogenous retrovirus (ERV). In humans, ERVs (HERVs) comprise about 8% of the genome, the vast majority of which are truncated and/or highly mutated and n…