A paper published in 2020 with the provocative title: "Prion protein PrP nucleic acid binding and mobilization implicates retroelements as the replicative component of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy," proposed that PrP is a nucleic-acid-binding antimicrobial protein that, like retroviral Gag proteins, can trigger reverse transcription by binding to LINE-1 retroelement-derived RNA. The gene discussed is PRNP; the disease is human prion disease.