Arc – An endogenous neuronal retrovirus?

The neuronal gene Arc is essential for long-lasting information storage in the mammalian brain and has been implicated in various neurological disorders. However, little is known about Arc's evolutionary origins. Recent studies suggest that mammalian Arc originated from a vertebrate lineage of Ty3/gypsy retrotransposons, which are also ancestral to retroviruses. In particular, Arc contains homology to the Gag polyprotein that forms the viral capsid and is essential for viral infectivity. This surprising connection raises the intriguing possibility that Arc may share molecular characteristics of retroviruses.