Differential Evolutionary Fate of an Ancestral Primate Endogenous Retrovirus Envelope Gene, the EnvV Syncytin, Captured for a Function in Placentation
Syncytins are envelope genes of retroviral origin that have been co-opted for a role in placentation. They promote cell–cell fusion and are involved in the formation of a syncytium layer—the syncytiotrophoblast—at the materno-fetal interface. They were captured independently in eutherian mammals, a...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Online |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science
2013
|
| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3610889/ |