Evolutionary analysis of endogenous intronic retroviruses in primates reveals an enrichment in transcription binding sites associated with key regulatory processes.

Background: Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are the result of the integration of retroviruses into host DNA following germline infection. Endogenous retroviruses are made up of three main genes: , , and , each of which encodes viral proteins that can be conserved or not. ERVs have been observed in a wide range of vertebrate genomes and their functions are associated with viral silencing and gene regulation.