Comments on: New flu gene found hiding in plain sight, and affects severity of infections http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/06/28/new-flu-gene-found-hiding-in-plain-sight-and-affects-severity-of-infections/ Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:00:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Peter http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/06/28/new-flu-gene-found-hiding-in-plain-sight-and-affects-severity-of-infections/#comment-15451 Peter Fri, 29 Jun 2012 18:56:07 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/?p=7173#comment-15451 Although the response to the viral infection is more severe when the PA-X is removed, is such a response of any benefit to the host in the long-term such as greater immunity to future infections? Although the response to the viral infection is more severe when the PA-X is removed, is such a response of any benefit to the host in the long-term such as greater immunity to future infections?

]]> By: Ed http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/06/28/new-flu-gene-found-hiding-in-plain-sight-and-affects-severity-of-infections/#comment-15450 Ed Fri, 29 Jun 2012 14:23:08 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/?p=7173#comment-15450 This is indeed exciting. it is amazing how a virus like influenza, which is so well studied, can keep another one, even two judging by the end of your article, hiding this long. I wonder if people are looking for novel frameshift or IRES genes in other RNA viruses as rigorously, e.g. HIV? These little buggers have canny ways of changing our host response for sure! This is indeed exciting. it is amazing how a virus like influenza, which is so well studied, can keep another one, even two judging by the end of your article, hiding this long. I wonder if people are looking for novel frameshift or IRES genes in other RNA viruses as rigorously, e.g. HIV? These little buggers have canny ways of changing our host response for sure!

]]> By: Ed Yong http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/06/28/new-flu-gene-found-hiding-in-plain-sight-and-affects-severity-of-infections/#comment-15449 Ed Yong Fri, 29 Jun 2012 12:03:01 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/?p=7173#comment-15449 I'm pretty sure the same trick exists in more complex genomes. Definitely bacterial. I've sent the Twitter legions on a hunt for human examples. The main problem is that such sequences are really hard to find, as the flu example shows.<strong> [Update: Yep, here's one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARF_tumor_suppressor Thanks to Benjamin Hall on Twitter]</strong> I’m pretty sure the same trick exists in more complex genomes. Definitely bacterial. I’ve sent the Twitter legions on a hunt for human examples.

The main problem is that such sequences are really hard to find, as the flu example shows.

[Update: Yep, here's one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARF_tumor_suppressor Thanks to Benjamin Hall on Twitter]

]]> By: Colin Bisset http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/06/28/new-flu-gene-found-hiding-in-plain-sight-and-affects-severity-of-infections/#comment-15448 Colin Bisset Thu, 28 Jun 2012 20:38:45 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/?p=7173#comment-15448 This is really exciting stuff. Question: I understand that viruses are under severe evolutionary pressure to keep their genome compact, so such a reading trick is more likely to evolve in a virus. However, how likely is the trick to be confined to viruses, once evolved, given that viral genetic material is shared liberally with other organism, like humans. Is it possible that our own reading mechanisms also use this trick? This is really exciting stuff.
Question: I understand that viruses are under severe evolutionary pressure to keep their genome compact, so such a reading trick is more likely to evolve in a virus. However, how likely is the trick to be confined to viruses, once evolved, given that viral genetic material is shared liberally with other organism, like humans. Is it possible that our own reading mechanisms also use this trick?

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