Search

Blog Archive

Single stranded RNA.

3 comments:

Peter S said...

This virus was originally referred to as “swine flu” because laboratory testing showed that many of the genes in this new virus were very similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs in North America. But further study has shown that this new virus is very different from what normally circulates in North American pigs. It has two genes from flu viruses that normally circulate in pigs in Europe and Asia and avian genes and human genes. Scientists call this a “quadruple reassortant” virus.

*Britt* said...

H1N1 is an RNA virus.
Quote from a blog at http://www.politicalfriendster.com/showC...
Swine influenza presents a special challenge in genetics because its genome comprises eight segments of ribonucleic acid, better known as RNA. RNA viruses such as swine flu store their genetic information in RNA, which is more susceptible to mutation than DNA. This allows RNA viruses to evolve far more rapidly than DNA viruses and sometimes makes it hard for an infected host to develop lasting immunity.
See this quote from Newsweek:http://www.newsweek.com/id/195692?from=r...
At the viral level, influenza is an awfully sloppy microbe that is in a constant state of mutation and evolution. Its genetic material is in the form of RNA (not DNA, as in humans), loosely collected into chromosomes. When a virus infects a cell, its chromosomes essentially fall apart into a mess, which is copied to make more viruses that then enter the bloodstream to spread throughout the body.

Kim G said...

H1N1 is a single stranded RNA virus.

Post a Comment