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INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP. "Perhaps nowhere in nature is a parasitic relationship as well defined as that which occurs between a virus and its host cell. Viruses rely on the host cell for propagation, utilizing cellular machinery for the replication and assembly of viral components and the release of progeny virions." https://lnkd.in/esrit55 View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE continues from last weekend about the battle between virus and its host for control of the host's cellular machinery, which is obligatory to allow the virus to enter, replicate, and thrive. The sophistication of the molecular strategies employed by viruses to evade host defenses is evidence of a vibrant adaptive response by the virus, forever probing endless new possibilities via intense genetic variation. View in LinkedIn

VIRAL PROTEINS. "It is difficult not only to discern from nucleic acid sequences how retroviral polyproteins are made, but also to recognize that complex patterns of proteolytic cleavage are required to produce the mature proteins found in mature virions." https://lnkd.in/eBisbvi View in LinkedIn

STEALTH MODE. "Viruses Mimic the Host Mitochondrial Proteins. Mimicking aids the viruses to gain access to host cellular machinery and greatly helps in their survival in the hostile host environment." https://lnkd.in/eFuy4KS View in LinkedIn

THREE FLIES IN THE OINTMENT. "The fact that there is a direct relationship between the structure of the complex macromolecules involved in retroviral replication and their function has long been clear. Three factors complicate the correlation of retroviral nucleic acid sequence with their encoded proteins: ribosomal frameshifting, readthrough suppression of termination codons, and splicing, which is, in some cases, quite complex." https://lnkd.in/eBisbvi View in LinkedIn

WHOLESALE REDISTRIBUTION. "Viruses alter the intracellular distribution of mitochondria either by concentrating the mitochondria near the viral factories to meet energy requirements during viral replication or by cordoning off the mitochondria within cytoplasm to prevent the release of mediators of apoptosis." https://lnkd.in/eFuy4KS View in LinkedIn

NEW METHODS, NEW VIEWS. "Until DNA cloning and sequencing were developed in the late 1970s, inferences about the organization of the retroviral genome were hard won. Because of the very high rate of recombination, typically yielding more than one crossover per recombinant genome, classical genetic experiments were difficult to interpret." https://lnkd.in/eU8gmtJ View in LinkedIn

ENERGY PLAY. "Over the years, viruses have perfected different strategies to establish complex relationships with their host with the sole purpose of preserving their existence. One such strategy involves the hijacking of the host cell mitochondrial proteins." Why? Because they are where ATP is made, the cellular energy currency. https://lnkd.in/eFuy4KS View in LinkedIn

RETROVIRAL GENES. "The integrated retroviral genes have been demonstrated to play critical role in mammalian reproduction." http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/11/276/ View in LinkedIn

Menghis Bairu, MD View in LinkedIn