Researchers at Helmholtz Munich and LMU have discovered that transposable elements, remnants of ancient viral DNA, are crucial for early embryo development. A new method to study their transcription revealed that these elements are re-expressed in mammalian embryos and vary across species. This finding opens up new avenues for gene manipulation and understanding cellular plasticity.
Helmholtz Munich )Jan 20 2025 Over half of our genomes consists of thousands of remnants of ancient viral DNA, known as transposable elements , which are widespread across the tree of life. Once dismissed as the "dark side" of the genome, researchers at Helmholtz Munich and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität have now revealed their crucial role in early embryo development .
Thought to be extinct viral elements re-expressed in mammalian embryos A team of researchers led by Prof. Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla at Helmholtz Munich and LMU set out to explore these ancient DNA sequences by developing a novel method to study their transcription. They created a single-embryo atlas by comparing embryos from several mammalian species, including mouse, cow, pig, rabbit, and the non-human primate, rhesus macaque.
GENOME REGULATION EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENTS CELLULAR PLASTICITY MAMMALIAN GENETICS
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