--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Collectively, the veritable zoo of mobile…" description: "\"“Collectively, the veritable zoo of mobile genetic elements comprises a remarkable 40 percent of our genome. The retroviral sequences littered across a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/michael-g-cordingley-38351_arms-race_collectively-the-veritable-zoo-of-mobile_3013677.jpg" --- # Collectively, the veritable zoo of mobile genetic elements… ![“Collectively, the veritable zoo of mobile genetic elements comprises a remarkable 40 percent of our genome. The retroviral sequences littered across all vertebrate genomes are termed endogenous retroviral elements (ERVs). Endogenous retroviral sequences themselves are so plentiful that they take…” quote by Michael G Cordingley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/michael-g-cordingley-38351_arms-race_collectively-the-veritable-zoo-of-mobile_3013677.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/michael-g-cordingley-38351_arms-race_collectively-the-veritable-zoo-of-mobile_3013677.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/michael-g-cordingley-38351_arms-race_collectively-the-veritable-zoo-of-mobile_3013677.jpg) > ““Collectively, the veritable zoo of mobile genetic elements comprises a remarkable 40 percent of our genome. The retroviral sequences littered across all vertebrate genomes are termed endogenous retroviral elements (ERVs). Endogenous retroviral sequences themselves are so plentiful that they take up more space in our genomes than genes encoding human proteins. Their existence is evidence of waves of retroviral infection and germline infiltration throughout vertebrate evolution. We have only recently begun to realize the powerful influence that retroviruses wielded over the evolution of vertebrate genomes and the identity of our species. They were catalysts of genetic instability that fueled evolutionary change; today they are vestiges of their former selves, fossils of viruses that once preyed on vertebrate hosts. Their remains are evidence of pyrrhic victories of sorts in many wars and arms races that have taken place between retroviruses and hosts. Most endogenous retroviruses have long been silenced by host cell restriction mechanisms. Associated with no phenotype, and under no selective pressure they become nonviable after millions of years of mutational drift, resulting in the accumulation of mutations and deletions in their coding sequences and control elements.”” [Michael G Cordingley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-cordingley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Endogenous retroviruses make up a large portion of our DNA, reflecting ancient viral infections that shaped vertebrate evolution. **In simple terms:** ERVs are viral remnants in our genome that show past infections. Key Takeaway Study ERVs to understand genome evolution and disease. Themes genomics evolution viral remnants genetic instability host defense Mood curious analytical scientific Type informative academic technical When to use this quote - comparative genomics - medical research - evolutionary biology - genetic engineering Key Concepts retroviral integration genomic fossils co‑option epigenetic silencing Questions to Reflect On - How have ERVs contributed to human traits? - What mechanisms keep ERVs silenced? A Different Perspective ERVs can be reactivated under stress, potentially causing disease. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arms race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms-race/) [Endogenous Retroviral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endogenous-retroviral-4844172/) [Endogenous Retroviruses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endogenous-retroviruses-4844173/) [Retroviral Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retroviral-elements-4844174/) [Retroviral Sequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retroviral-sequences-4844175/) [Retroviruses Wielded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retroviruses-wielded-4844176/) ## Related quotes > [Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kubrick/gee-i-wish-we-had-one-of-them-doomsday-machines-things/) [Stanley Kubrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kubrick/) > [Of course, one of the most disturbing features is the fact that while we have had roughly a ten year pause in the arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/of-course-one-of-the-most-disturbing-features-is-the-fact-that-while/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [...convince all nuclear powers, including those which have been more reluctant up to now, of the necessity to respect the "vital interests" of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfonso-garcia-robles/convince-all-nuclear-powers-including-those-which-have-been-more/) [Alfonso Garcia Robles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfonso-garcia-robles/) > [“the Russian assault rifle would see its first combat use—both by conventional forces and by insurgents. The United States military, all the while, would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-chivers/the-russian-assault-rifle-would-see-its-first-combat-use-both-by/) [C.J. Chivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-chivers/) > [I agree that we need a working relationship with Russia to deescalate a nuclear arms race, to resolve the crisis in Syria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-vanden-heuvel/i-agree-that-we-need-a-working-relationship-with-russia-to-deescalate/) [Katrina vanden Heuvel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-vanden-heuvel/) > [Because there is global insecurity, nations are engaged in a mad arms race, spending billions of dollars wastefully on instruments of destruction, when millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/because-there-is-global-insecurity-nations-are-engaged-in-a-mad-arms/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [India, Pakistan, China, Singapore and South Korea are heavily investing in nuclear arms. 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It pursues a nuclear capability that could spark a dangerous arms race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-iranian-regime-supports-violent-extremists-and-challenges-us/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [But scientists on both sides of the iron curtain played a very significant role in maintaining the momentum of the nuclear arms race throughout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-rotblat/but-scientists-on-both-sides-of-the-iron-curtain-played-a-very/) [Joseph Rotblat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-rotblat/) > [Southerners, whose ancestors a hundred years ago knew the horrors of a homeland devastated by war, are particularly determined that war shall never come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/southerners-whose-ancestors-a-hundred-years-ago-knew-the-horrors-of-a/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [We do not have the right to forget that reactionary imperialism exists and its forces actively operate in the world, that they encourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-grechko/we-do-not-have-the-right-to-forget-that-reactionary-imperialism/) [Andrei Grechko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-grechko/) > [World War I broke out largely because of an arms race, and World War II because of the lack of an arms race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-kahn/world-war-i-broke-out-largely-because-of-an-arms-race-and-world-war/) [Herman Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-kahn/) ## More by Michael G Cordingley > [“ERV envelope genes possess unique properties that make them suitable for use in forming the placenta: they are fusogenic proteins and they have immunosuppresive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-cordingley/erv-envelope-genes-possess-unique-properties-that-make-them-suitable/) [Michael G Cordingley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-cordingley/) > [“It is also reasonable to speculate that the capacity of prophages to be induced at a low frequency must in itself be advantageous to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-cordingley/it-is-also-reasonable-to-speculate-that-the-capacity-of-prophages-to/) [Michael G Cordingley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-cordingley/) > [“In early primates, we can pinpoint a particular ERV integration event into the locus of the pancreatic amylase gene that conferred upon our ancestors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-cordingley/in-early-primates-we-can-pinpoint-a-particular-erv-integration-event/) [Michael G Cordingley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-cordingley/) > [“Such then is the nature of quasispecies : the density of the sequence cloud at any point in sequence space is determined by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-cordingley/such-then-is-the-nature-of-quasispecies-the-density-of-the-sequence/) [Michael G Cordingley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-cordingley/) > [“The litter of ERVs across vertebrate genomes, mainly in the form of defective and deleted proviruses, mutationally inactivated proteins coding sequences, and isolated LTRs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-cordingley/the-litter-of-ervs-across-vertebrate-genomes-mainly-in-the-form-of/) [Michael G Cordingley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-cordingley/) > [“The results of the studies opened up a whole new avenue of research into live-attenuated vaccines: synthetic attenuated virus engineering (SAVE). A virus was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-cordingley/the-results-of-the-studies-opened-up-a-whole-new-avenue-of-research/) [Michael G Cordingley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-cordingley/) > [“Unlike lytic phages, CTXφ can actively replicate within V. cholerae and generate progeny phages without killing its host cell. The process of phage induction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-cordingley/unlike-lytic-phages-ctx-can-actively-replicate-within-v-cholerae-and/) [Michael G Cordingley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-cordingley/) > [“The researchers looked deeper into these observations, in hopes of gaining insight into the mechanisms underlying the high evolutionary rate and extraordinary immunologic plasticity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-cordingley/the-researchers-looked-deeper-into-these-observations-in-hopes-of/) [Michael G Cordingley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-cordingley/) > [“The accelerating pace of zoonotic transmission of novel viruses into humans is attributable to anthropogenic epidemiologic factors. Only behavior modification or medical management of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-cordingley/the-accelerating-pace-of-zoonotic-transmission-of-novel-viruses-into/) [Michael G Cordingley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-cordingley/) > [“The basis for the potential of all virolytic therapeutics resides in the exquisite selectivity they exhibit for infecting and killing cancer cells. The very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-cordingley/the-basis-for-the-potential-of-all-virolytic-therapeutics-resides-in/) [Michael G Cordingley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-cordingley/) > [“Vaccination with a live-attenuated virus vaccine can be compared with the cross-species transmission of viruses that cause zoonotic infection. If the vaccine strain is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-cordingley/vaccination-with-a-live-attenuated-virus-vaccine-can-be-compared-with/) [Michael G Cordingley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-cordingley/) [Explore all 12 Michael G Cordingley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-cordingley/) ## More Arms race quotes > [Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kubrick/gee-i-wish-we-had-one-of-them-doomsday-machines-things/) [Stanley Kubrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kubrick/) > [We do not have the right to forget that reactionary imperialism exists and its forces actively operate in the world, that they encourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-grechko/we-do-not-have-the-right-to-forget-that-reactionary-imperialism/) [Andrei Grechko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-grechko/) > [Southerners, whose ancestors a hundred years ago knew the horrors of a homeland devastated by war, are particularly determined that war shall never come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/southerners-whose-ancestors-a-hundred-years-ago-knew-the-horrors-of-a/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [But scientists on both sides of the iron curtain played a very significant role in maintaining the momentum of the nuclear arms race throughout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-rotblat/but-scientists-on-both-sides-of-the-iron-curtain-played-a-very/) [Joseph Rotblat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-rotblat/) > [The Iranian regime supports violent extremists and challenges us across the region. It pursues a nuclear capability that could spark a dangerous arms race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-iranian-regime-supports-violent-extremists-and-challenges-us/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Our tolerance of the intolerable found a low threshold as early as the late 1950s with the grotesque excesses of McCarthyism, which destroyed so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/our-tolerance-of-the-intolerable-found-a-low-threshold-as-early-as/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [A program of "disarmament," while imperialist antagonisms survive, is the most pernicious of fictions. Even if it were realized by way of general agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/a-program-of-disarmament-while-imperialist-antagonisms-survive-is-the/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [We will stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power. We will stop that nuclear arms race that could happen in the Middle East. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-jindal/we-will-stop-iran-from-becoming-a-nuclear-power-we-will-stop-that/) [Bobby Jindal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-jindal/) > [India, Pakistan, China, Singapore and South Korea are heavily investing in nuclear arms. Since 21st century is the century of Asia, Asian countries should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/india-pakistan-china-singapore-and-south-korea-are-heavily-investing/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [Because there is global insecurity, nations are engaged in a mad arms race, spending billions of dollars wastefully on instruments of destruction, when millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/because-there-is-global-insecurity-nations-are-engaged-in-a-mad-arms/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I agree that we need a working relationship with Russia to deescalate a nuclear arms race, to resolve the crisis in Syria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-vanden-heuvel/i-agree-that-we-need-a-working-relationship-with-russia-to-deescalate/) [Katrina vanden Heuvel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-vanden-heuvel/) > [“the Russian assault rifle would see its first combat use—both by conventional forces and by insurgents. The United States military, all the while, would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-chivers/the-russian-assault-rifle-would-see-its-first-combat-use-both-by/) [C.J. Chivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-chivers/) > [...convince all nuclear powers, including those which have been more reluctant up to now, of the necessity to respect the "vital interests" of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfonso-garcia-robles/convince-all-nuclear-powers-including-those-which-have-been-more/) [Alfonso Garcia Robles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfonso-garcia-robles/) > [Of course, one of the most disturbing features is the fact that while we have had roughly a ten year pause in the arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/of-course-one-of-the-most-disturbing-features-is-the-fact-that-while/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [World War I broke out largely because of an arms race, and World War II because of the lack of an arms race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-kahn/world-war-i-broke-out-largely-because-of-an-arms-race-and-world-war/) [Herman Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-kahn/) [Browse all 136 Arms race quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms-race/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Collectively, the veritable zoo of mobile genetic elements comprises a remarkable 40 percent of our genome. The retroviral sequences littered across all vertebrate genomes are termed endogenous retroviral elements (ERVs). Endogenous retroviral sequences themselves are so plentiful that they take up more space in our genomes than genes encoding human proteins. Their existence is evidence of waves of retroviral infection and germline infiltration throughout vertebrate evolution. We have only recently begun to realize the powerful influence that retroviruses wielded over the evolution of vertebrate genomes and the identity of our species. They were catalysts of genetic instability that fueled evolutionary change; today they are vestiges of their former selves, fossils of viruses that once preyed on vertebrate hosts. Their remains are evidence of pyrrhic victories of sorts in many wars and arms races that have taken place between retroviruses and hosts. Most endogenous retroviruses have long been silenced by host cell restriction mechanisms. 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