Effects of Random Recombination Between Two Virus Species
Author Information
Author(s): Vuillaume Florence, Thébaud Gaël, Urbino Cica, Forfert Nadège, Granier Martine, Froissart Rémy, Blanc Stéphane, Peterschmitt Michel
Primary Institution: CIRAD, INRA, CNRS – Unité mixte de recherche Biologie & génétique des interactions plante-parasite (BGPI), Montpellier, France
Hypothesis
Most viral recombinant genomes are likely to be deleterious or lethal if the nucleotide identity of parental sequences is below 90%.
Conclusion
All tested recombinants were infectious and accumulated at levels comparable to the parental viruses, challenging the view that recombination between distantly related viruses is mostly deleterious.
Supporting Evidence
- All 47 recombinants were infectious.
- Viral accumulation levels of recombinants were comparable to parental viruses.
- Recombinants were generated from two viruses with 82% nucleotide identity.
Takeaway
Scientists mixed two types of plant viruses and found that all the new viruses they created could still infect plants, which is surprising because they thought most would be harmful.
Methodology
The study involved creating a bank of recombinant viruses through DNA-shuffling and testing their infectivity and accumulation in tomato plants.
Limitations
The study only tested a subset of recombinants and did not explore all possible combinations.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.0026
Confidence Interval
0 and 0.062
Statistical Significance
p=0.0026
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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