Virus evolution; a new way to evolve (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, March 30, 2018, 00:27 (2431 days ago) @ David Turell

Shown in a new study: how they trick their way into new hosts:

https://phys.org/news/2018-03-virus-newly-path-evolution.html

"Viruses infect by attaching themselves to molecular receptors on the surface of cells. These receptors are the "locks" that viruses must open to enter cells. The "keys" to the locks are viral proteins called host-recognition proteins. Researchers working in this area have focused on how mutations alter these protein keys—and what changes allow them to access new locks. Scientists have known for years that viruses can gain new keys with relatively few mutations but they have not solved the mysteries of how these mutations first appear.

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"Petrie and colleagues found that a single gene sometimes yields multiple different proteins. The lambda virus evolved a protein sequence that was prone to structural instability that results in the creation of at least two different host-recognition proteins. Fortunately for the virus—but not its host—these different types of proteins can exploit different locks.

"'We were able to capture this evolutionary process in action," said Petrie, the lead author of the study. "We found that the protein's 'mistakes' allowed the virus to infect its normal host, as well as different host cells. This nongenetic variation in the protein is a way to access more functions from a single DNA gene sequence. It's like a buy-one-get-one-free special for the protein.'"

Comment: Exactly how a gene can make more than one gene is probably epigenetic markers, but here again we see automatic responses at the molecular level between cells.