TY - JOUR AU - Vargiu, Laura AU - Rodriguez-Tomé, Patricia AU - Sperber, Göran O. AU - Cadeddu, Marta AU - Grandi, Nicole AU - Blikstad, Vidar AU - Tramontano, Enzo AU - Blomberg, Jonas PY - 2016 DA - 2016/01/22 TI - Classification and characterization of human endogenous retroviruses; mosaic forms are common JO - Retrovirology SP - 7 VL - 13 IS - 1 AB - Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) represent the inheritance of ancient germ-line cell infections by exogenous retroviruses and the subsequent transmission of the integrated proviruses to the descendants. ERVs have the same internal structure as exogenous retroviruses. While no replication-competent HERVs have been recognized, some retain up to three of four intact ORFs. HERVs have been classified before, with varying scope and depth, notably in the RepBase/RepeatMasker system. However, existing classifications are bewildering. There is a need for a systematic, unifying and simple classification. We strived for a classification which is traceable to previous classifications and which encompasses HERV variation within a limited number of clades. SN - 1742-4690 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12977-015-0232-y DO - 10.1186/s12977-015-0232-y ID - Vargiu2016 ER -