GoKawiilResearchers find human skin virus carrying ancient human BC200 gene
Scientists report that molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV), which infects human skin cells, contains a copy of BC200, a noncoding RNA gene unique to humans and related primates that is believed to have been acquired from ancestral genomes roughly 100,000 years ago. BC200 is normally abundant in neurons and is thought to help regulate protein production, but it is also a 'jumping gene' capable of inserting itself elsewhere in the genome, and researchers say MCV appears to be the only known virus to carry it.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The discovery could reveal a previously unknown way viruses exploit human genetic material to manipulate host cells, according to senior author Cedric Feschotte, who says his team wants to investigate whether MCV uses BC200 this way. Because BC200 is already linked to abnormal expression in Alzheimer's disease and certain tumors, understanding how it jumps and spreads could shed light on disease mechanisms, though researchers stress this connection remains speculative and unproven.
- A human-specific gene, BC200, has been found embedded in the molluscum contagiosum virus, which infects skin cells.
- BC200 normally helps regulate protein synthesis in neurons and is unusual in that it can 'jump' and insert itself into genomes.
- Researchers plan to study whether the virus exploits BC200 to manipulate host cells and whether its jumping behavior contributes to cancer or Alzheimer's disease.
Source: science.slashdot.org — Posted, 2026-10-04
Published there as: “This Virus Stole a Human Gene and Won't Let Go of It”
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