Research overview: endogenous retroviruses in cat genomes

Feline genomes carry endogenous retroviruses, the genomic remnants of ancient viral infections, and the related infectious feline leukemia virus, which together offer insights into host-virus coevolution. This overview surveys how endogenous retroviral elements have been cataloged across cat genomes, their occasional co-option into host functions such as the KIT insertion that produces white spotting, and their use as phylogenetic markers because shared insertions trace common ancestry. It discusses the interplay between endogenous and exogenous retroviruses in cats, the implications for disease resistance, and how mobile elements have both shaped feline genome evolution and provided tools for reconstructing it.