I cannot let September pass without noting that 34 years ago this month, I arrived at Columbia University to start my laboratory to do research on poliovirus (pictured). That virus is no longer the sole object of our attention – we are wrapping up some work on poliovirus and our attention has shifted elsewhere. But this is …
Prions are not viruses – they are infectious proteins that lack nucleic acids. Nevertheless, virologists have always been fascinated by prions – they appear in virology textbooks (where else would you put them?) and are taught in virology classes. I’ve written about prions on this blog (five articles, to be exact – look under P in the …
There are many examples of viruses with segmented genomes – like influenza viruses – but these genomes segments are packaged in one virus particle. Sometimes the genome segments are separately packaged in virus particles. Such multicomponent viruses are commonly found to infect plants and fungi, but only recently have examples of such viruses that infect animals …
Animal viruses with separately packaged RNA segments Read More »
Although the use of the live, attenuated (Sabin) poliovirus vaccines has been instrumental in nearly eradicating the virus from the planet, the rare reversion to virulence of these strains has lead to the World Health Organization to recommend their replacement with inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV). Unfortunately IPV is also not without shortcomings, including high cost, failure …
Whole plant cells producing viral capsid protein as a poliovirus vaccine candidate Read More »
Volatile organic compounds that are emitted by plants – which play important roles in attracting insects – can be altered by virus infection. Infection by cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) increases the emissions that attract aphids, but the virus-altered plant juices are not so tasty, so the insect quickly leaves to spread virus to other plants (listen to …
Mosquito saliva, which is injected into the host as a mosquito probes for a blood vessel, contains a collection of chemicals which include anticoagulants to prevent blood clotting, vasodilators to keep blood vessels wide, and anesthetics to prevent us from sensing the mosquito. Saliva also contains components that enhance viral replication, dissemination, and pathogenesis by …
Mosquito saliva enhances virus replication and disease Read More »
