Randy writes:
> ALL bees contain virus genes in their genomes, as do all humans.

Here the discussion hinges on non-retroviruses. Retroviruses like HID are known to integrate with regularity. 

> Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), contrasted with exogenous ones, now make up 5-8% of the human genome.
> Although many other viruses, including non-retroviral RNA viruses, are known to generate DNA forms of their own genomes during replication, none has been found as DNA in the germline of animals."

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> The rarity of reported recombination events between viral RNA and host mRNA may reflect their infrequency or the failure of products to be viable. Greene, et al. Science 263, 1423 (1994)

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> In a recent BMC Biology article Taylor and Bruenn for the first time report a detailed molecular and evolutionary study of non-retroviral RNA virus genes integrated into eukaryotic genomes (hereinafter NIRV, non-retroviral integrated Rna viruses). The conclusions are no less than stunning: not only are NIRV widespread in fungi but they have become bona fide, functional genes. 

> For retroid viruses, integration into the host genomic DNA is a regular stage of the reproduction cycle and sequences derived from retroelements comprise almost half of mammalian genomic DNA [2] and, strikingly, >75% of the genomic DNA in some plants such as maize in the more compact fungal genomes, retroelement-derived sequences are less abundant but also common.

> So far, NIRV have been a completely different story: reliable reports of integration of DNA copies of non-retroviral RNA virus genes into host genomes can be counted on the fingers of one hand. However, the observations on NIRVs, along with the recent demonstration of multiple acquisitions of bacterial genes by fungi shows that diverse eukaryotic genomes reveals substantial lateral gene traffic. Koonin BMC Biology 2010, 8:2

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> Our results provide the first evidence for endogenization of non-retroviral virus-derived elements in mammalian genomes and give novel insights not only into generation of endogenous elements, but also into a role of bornavirus as a source of genetic novelty in its host.  Nature 463, 84-87 (7 January 2010)

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