virology blog
About viruses and viral disease
The TWiVers present mitoviruses, which infect mitochondria, and how quasi-enveloped hepatitis A virus gets naked again.
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Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv
A listener of the science podcast This Week in Virology asked in 2010 whether there are viruses that infect mitochondria:
Is there a virus that infects mitochondria? It’s an organelle that has its own genetic material and polymerase, so it could replicate a virus. Does the mitochondrial double membrane and the cell membrane impose a barrier that phages cannot transpose?
At the time I did not know that there were viruses that infect mitochondria, but they had been discovered years earlier. They are called, appropriately, mitoviruses.
Mitochondria are descended from bacteria that invaded cells 1.5 billion years ago and never left. The mitochondrial genome is like that of bacteria: circular double-stranded DNA, only smaller. And just like the genome of bacteria, RNA can be made from both strands of mitochondrial DNA – which results in the formation of dsRNA. Fortunately there are systems in place to make sure that this dsRNA does not cause excessive interferon (IFN) production, which would damage the cell.
[Read more…] about Mitochondrial double-stranded RNA is dangerous
Brianne joins the TWiVMasters to explain how mutations in genes encoding RNA polymerase III predispose children to severe varicella, and detection of an RNA virus by a DNA sensor.
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Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv.
The TWiV team takes on an experimental plant-based poliovirus vaccine, contradictory findings on the efficacy of Flumist, waning protection conferred by Zostavax, and a new adjuvanted subunit zoster vaccine.
You can find TWiV #403 at microbe.tv/twiv, or listen below.
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Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, and Rich ConditOn episode #107 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Dickson, Alan, and Rich answer listener questions about poliovirus, social media, dengue, influenza, evolution, gel filtration, and much more.
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Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #107 (68 MB .mp3, 94 minutes).
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Links for this episode:
Weekly Science Picks
Rich – Protein Synthesis: An epic on the cellular level
Dickson – The Patchwork Mouse by Joseph R. Hixson
Alan – Bill Hammack’s engineering videos
Vincent – Visual Science (thanks, Svetlana)
Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@microbe.tv or leave voicemail at Skype: twivpodcast. You can also post articles that you would like us to discuss at microbeworld.org and tag them with twiv.