Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40680142›Full record

ArticleScience advances2025

A phylogenetic approach uncovers cryptic endogenous retrovirus subfamilies in the primate lineage.

Xun Chen, Zicong Zhang, Yizhi Yan, Clement Goubert, Guillaume Bourque, Fumitaka Inoue

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing 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

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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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. PervasivebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
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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

6 authors.

Xun ChenInstitute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (WPI-ASHBi), Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-0327-1888
Zicong ZhangInstitute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (WPI-ASHBi), Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-1444-5054
Yizhi YanInstitute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (WPI-ASHBi), Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-2787-4819
Clement GoubertDepartment of Human Genetics, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 0C7, Canada.
Guillaume BourqueInstitute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (WPI-ASHBi), Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.ORCID 0000-0002-3933-9656
Fumitaka InoueInstitute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (WPI-ASHBi), Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-0657-434X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Current approaches for classifying and annotating endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) and their long terminal repeats (LTRs) have limited resolution and are inaccurate. Here, we developed an annotation approach based on phylogenetic analysis and cross-species conservation. Focusing on the evolutionarily young LTR subfamilies known as MER11A/B/C, we revealed the presence of four "new subfamilies," suggesting a new annotation for 412 (19.8%) of these repeat elements. We then validated their regulatory potential using a massively parallel reporter assay. We further identified motifs associated with their differential activities including an ape-specific gain of SOX-related motifs through a single-nucleotide deletion. By applying our approach across 53 simian-enriched LTR subfamilies, we defined 75 new subfamilies and found a novel annotation for a total of 3807 (30.0%) instances from 26 subfamilies. With this refined annotation of simian-enriched LTRs, it will be possible to better understand the evolution in primate genomes and potentially identify critical roles for ERVs and their LTRs in the hosts.

Indexed as

Endogenous RetrovirusesPhylogenyPrimatesAnimalsEvolution, MolecularHumansMolecular Sequence AnnotationTerminal Repeat Sequences

Identifiers

PMID40680142
PMCPMC12273786

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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.