DNA From a Human Brain Gene Has Turned Up In a Virus

Some pieces of our DNA can copy themselves into new locations. Copies derived from one gene active in human brain cells appear to have taken that journey further: into a virus .

Researchers found two such sequences, derived from a gene called BC200, inside molluscum contagiosum virus, which infects our skin and causes small, raised lesions .

The discovery reveals an unusual genetic double life. BC200 acquired a cellular role millions of years ago, yet retained the ability to produce copies that insert themselves elsewhere.

A study published in Science suggests this movement has continued throughout primate evolution, contributed to differences among human genomes, and carried BC200-derived sequences across the boundary between humans and a virus.

But the virus didn't simply take a gene from a brain cell, and nothing suggests it gained anything resembling brain function. What these sequences actually do inside the virus is still unknown.