AlaskaDenise
In Memoriam
(this describes a most unique pathogen defese system - it actually expands its genome!)
New research led by Dr. Harmit Malik of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has uncovered how poxviruses evolve to rapidly adapt against host defenses ? despite their low mutation rates.
The discovery provides new insight into how large, double-stranded DNA viruses evade host immunity and become drug resistant, and it has particular implications for understanding the mechanisms of infectious-disease transmission between animals and humans. The findings appear in the Aug. 17 issue of Cell.
(snipped)
Accordian-like gene expansion and contraction
Malik likened this rapid adaptation to the expansion of the bellows of a musical accordion. "As the K3L copy number increased in subsequent rounds of replication, so did expression of the K3L protein and subsequent inhibition of the immune response," he said. This showed that viruses that can quickly expand their genome have an immediate evolutionary advantage over those that cannot.
remainder of article:
http://www.fhcrc.org/en/news/center-news/2012/08/poxvirus-evolution-harmit-malik.html
New research led by Dr. Harmit Malik of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has uncovered how poxviruses evolve to rapidly adapt against host defenses ? despite their low mutation rates.
The discovery provides new insight into how large, double-stranded DNA viruses evade host immunity and become drug resistant, and it has particular implications for understanding the mechanisms of infectious-disease transmission between animals and humans. The findings appear in the Aug. 17 issue of Cell.
(snipped)
Accordian-like gene expansion and contraction
Malik likened this rapid adaptation to the expansion of the bellows of a musical accordion. "As the K3L copy number increased in subsequent rounds of replication, so did expression of the K3L protein and subsequent inhibition of the immune response," he said. This showed that viruses that can quickly expand their genome have an immediate evolutionary advantage over those that cannot.
remainder of article:
http://www.fhcrc.org/en/news/center-news/2012/08/poxvirus-evolution-harmit-malik.html