ArticlePLoS biology2025
Capsid transfer of the retrotransposon Copia controls structural synaptic plasticity in Drosophila.
Article in PLoS biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Host-transposable element coexistence: a matter of resistance, tolerance and trade-off.The EMBO journal · 2026Review
- Review
- Extracellular vesicles inEXO : beyond the cell · 2026Article
- Capsid flexibility during Ty1 virus-like particle assembly.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Innovative approaches for the treatment of stroke: a recent update.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025Review
- Pseudouridine selects RNAs for extracellular transport.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- dArc1 controls sugar reward valuation in Drosophila melanogaster.Current biology : CB · 2025Article
- Gag proteins encoded by endogenous retroviruses are required for zebrafish development.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Neural development goes retro: Gags as essential modulators of synapse formation.PLoS biology · 2025Article
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Abstract
Transposons are parasitic genome elements that can also serve as raw material for the evolution of new cellular functions. However, how retrotransposons are selected and domesticated by host organisms to modulate synaptic plasticity remains largely unknown. Here, we show that the Ty1 retrotransposon Copia forms virus-like capsids in vivo and transfers between cells. Copia is enriched at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction (NMJ) and transported across synapses, and disrupting its expression promotes both synapse development and structural synaptic plasticity. We show that proper synaptic plasticity is maintained in Drosophila by the balance of Copia and the Arc1 (activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein) homolog. High-resolution cryogenic-electron microscopy imaging shows that the structure of the Copia capsid has a large capacity and pores like retroviruses but is distinct from domesticated capsids such as dArc1. Our results suggest a fully functional transposon mediates synaptic plasticity, possibly representing an early stage of domestication of a retrotransposon.
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