Scientists See Viruses Like Ebola Do Something They Didn’t Know About Until Now

Filoviruses, like Ebola, were recently discovered to do something scientists say they didn’t know about before now: They “edit” their genes as they infect hosts.

The research published this week in the American Society for Microbiology’s journal mBio revealed insight into how filoviruses behave during the replication and transcription of their genetic code. Ebola and Marburg virus were the specific strains studied.

What scientists saw was a protein involved in RNA synthesis adding extra nucleotides, thus making new RNA. Specially, the researchers found this happening in glycoprotein RNA, which makes a protein that coats the virus’ surface.

Dr. Christopher Basler, a professor of microbiology at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine said scientists “previously didn’t realize” that viruses like this could be making different proteins upon infecting the host.

“Our study suggests that the Ebola virus is making forms of proteins previously undescribed,” lead author Dr. Reed Shabman, an assistant professor at the J. Craig Venter Institute, said in a statement. “Understanding the products of these viruses is critical to understanding how to target them.”

Basler said they’re not sure what these changes mean in the biology of the virus yet. They do, however, know that the proteins produced by the glycoprotein site are associated with virulence.

“We infer that this probably contributes to how the virus grows in a person or an animal,” Basler said.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/11/05/scientists-see-viruses-like-ebola-do-something-they-didnt-know-about-until-now/

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