virology blog
About viruses and viral disease
Team TWiV reveals DNA polymerases that do not require a primer, and packaging of hepatitis delta virus by the envelope glycoproteins of diverse viruses.
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Download TWiV 552 (70 MB .mp3, 116 min)
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Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv
Hepatitis D virus is a unique human pathogen. With a circular, negative stranded RNA genome of ~1700 nucleotides, it is the smallest known human virus. Formation of the HDV particle depends on co-infection of cells with a helper virus, hepatitis B virus. Once thought to be specific for humans, related viruses have now been identified in birds and snakes – in the absence of hepatitis B virus.
[Read more…] about Hepatitis delta-like virus in birds and snakes
On episode #210 of the science show This Week in Virology, the complete TWiV team reviews identification of the cell receptor for hepatitis B and D viruses, and the cell enzyme that cleaves the genome-linked protein from picornaviral RNA.
You can find TWiV #210 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
Download: .wmv (350 MB) | .mp4 (96 MB)
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