BLOG > Publications & Citations > A phylogenetic approach uncovers cryptic endogenous retrovirus subfamilies
Authors: Xun Chen et al.
Source: Sci. Adv.11,eads9164(2025).
We're thrilled to share insights from a recent study entitled "A phylogenetic approach uncovers cryptic endogenous retrovirus subfamilies in the primate lineage" published in Science Advances by Xun Chen et al.
Congratulations to all the authors on this excellent article!
Focusing on the evolutionarily young LTR subfamilies known as MER11A/B/C, they revealed the presence of four “new subfamilies,” suggesting a new annotation for 412 (19.8%) of these repeat elements. By applying their approach across 53 simian-enriched LTR subfamilies, the authors resolved previous classification inaccuracies, revealing 75 new LTR subfamilies, including four previously "cryptic" MER11 groups. These newly defined subfamilies exhibit more consistent epigenetic profiles, signifying distinct regulatory roles. The authors validated their regulatory potential at an unprecedented scale using a Massively Parallel Reporter Assay (MPRA). Critically, our ViroMag R/L (RL41000) was essential for efficient lentiviral infection of human iPSCs and iPSC-derived NPCs for MPRA experiments. This enabled the robust delivery of reporter vector library, fundamental for precisely quantifying regulatory activity. This work significantly refines the understanding of primate genome evolution and the crucial roles ERVs and LTRs play within their hosts.
Our ViroMag R/L transduction reagent was used to transduce WTC11 human iPSCs cells with Lentivirus.
Read the article See our ViroMag R/L
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