Story perspectives
Chimp Virus PTERV1 Silences Human-Development Gene in Chimpanzees
By Drooid · · How we work
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Story summary
- Patricia Gerdes and her team identified retrovirus PTERV1 that silences a brain gene in chimpanzees.
- PTERV1 is present in chimpanzees and other African apes but absent from humans.
- The virus inserted DNA near LINC00662 and turned off that gene in chimpanzee cells.
- LINC00662 remains active in early human brain development and promotes neuron and dendrite growth.
- Removing the viral insertion from chimpanzee stem cells restored LINC00662 activity in laboratory experiments.