A
new study has analyzed how genome mutations of RNA viruses tend to be lethal
for these infectious agents. It takes very little to make the RNA too messy and
bulky to fit into the capsid -- the shell that contains the viral genome -- and
by doing so disrupt the reproductive process. Lošdorfer Bochr('382')ichr('269').
To
get into the capsid, the "exoskeleton" of viruses, RNA must be well
combed and "packed," because otherwise it will not. The packing of
RNA is governed by the genome itself. Based on previous research that
demonstrated that viral RNA is normally optimized for packing (outside the
capsid it is only slightly bigger than the capsid itself).
Researchers
have verified what types of genome alterations preserve the optimization and
which instead render the RNA too bulky.
For
further details see:
Luca Tubiana, Anže Lošdorfer Božič, Cristian Micheletti,
Rudolf Podgornik. Synonymous Mutations Reduce Genome Compactness in
Icosahedral ssRNA Viruses. Biophysical Journal, 2015; 108
(1): 194 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2014.10.070
Posted by Tim Sandle
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