Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Viral evolution is a subfield of evolutionary biology and virology that is specifically concerned with the evolution of viruses. [1] [2] Viruses have short generation times, and many—in particular RNA viruses—have relatively high mutation rates (on the order of one point mutation or more per genome per round of replication).
The viral eukaryogenesis hypothesis posits that eukaryotes are composed of three ancestral elements: a viral component that became the modern nucleus; a prokaryotic cell (an archaeon according to the eocyte hypothesis) which donated the cytoplasm and cell membrane of modern cells; and another prokaryotic cell (here bacterium) that, by endocytosis, became the modern mitochondrion or chloroplast.
Depending on the virus, a variety of genetic changes can occur in the host cell. In the case of a lytic cycle virus, the cell will only survive long enough to the replication machinery to be used to create additional viral units. In other cases, the viral DNA will persist within the host cell and replicate as the cell replicates.
It can be a virus that is isolated from its natural reservoir or isolated as the result of spread to an animal or human host where the virus had not been identified before. It can be an emergent virus, one that represents a new virus, but it can also be an extant virus that has not been previously identified. [92]
This process can give viruses a shortcut to evolve, potentially altering the way they spread. “The virus we have right now in cows presents a relatively low risk to humans. CDC has said that and ...
Pigs are especially important in antigenic shift of influenza viruses. Because pigs can be infected with strains of influenza that infect various other species of animals, they act as 'mixing pots' for the virus. When multiple virus strains, such as a duck and human influenza strain, infect the same pig, antigenic shift is likely to occur.
Host resistance pivots around how well a host's immune system can fight off a disease and rid their body of the pathogens. [6] Although a healthy lifestyle can help a host, infectious diseases seem to evolve so quickly that a new generation of a disease may have emerged before scientists have the chance to make a vaccination for the first ...
A Chinese study says that tracking the H3N2 canine influenza virus for 10 years has shown adaptions that allow the dog flu to recognize a human-like receptor.