Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40665581›Full record

ArticleClinical and translational medicine2025

Adaptive evolution of koala retrovirus transcription silencing and what it means for conservation.

Keith J Chappell, Michaela B J Blyton, Zhiping Weng, William E Theurkauf

Abstract readEditorial
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical and translational medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Keith J ChappellAustralian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-8636-5067
Michaela B J BlytonAustralian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Zhiping WengProgram in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
William E TheurkaufProgram in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.

Funding

Australian Research Council DP240102085
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Koala populations in Australia face a barrage of threats, chiefly, habitat degradation and the effects of climate change including drought and bushfire. Further, high rates of chlamydiosis, linked to koala retrovirus (KoRV) viral load, is a major contributing factor to northern population decline. However, recent work by Yu et al., (Cell, 2024) has provided a glimmer of hope: some koalas have evolved 'adaptive genome immunity', which is able to actively suppress endogenous KoRV transcription. A single KoRV-A provirus insertion within MAP4K4 gene's 3' UTR is shown to be the trigger for production of sense and anti-sense piRNAs, and that MAP4K4 KoRV integration is linked to both a 20% reduction in proviral genome integrations and 10-fold reduction of KoRV transcription within male germline tissue. Here we discuss how this finding offers the potential to reduce koala disease burden and can be incorporated into conservation management to help save this iconic species.

Indexed as

Conservation of Natural ResourcesPhascolarctidaeRetroviridaeAnimalsAustraliachlamydiaconservationKoalapiRNAretrovirus

Identifiers

PMID40665581
PMCPMC12264075

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.