Zombie viruses on a hijacking journey: how retroviral gene fragments affect embryonic cells
In mouse stem cell nuclei, derepressed endoviral RNA molecules (purple) appear in the same locations as RNA polymerase II-containing condensates (green), as shown in this fluorescence microscopy image. Credit: Asimi et al. Old and dormant genome sequences have an unexpected impact on embryonic development. The mammalian genome contains retroviral sequences that are in an undead …