HIV-1 as RNA evolution machine. Summary of "HIV-1 as RNA evolution machine." We have over the years studied several sequence or structural elements within the HIV-1 RNA genome. Molecular mechanisms have been proposed for the role of these RNA motifs in virus replication. We have developed HIV-1 evolution as a powerful research method to study different aspects of the viral replication cycle. In this manuscript, I will illustrate the unique capacity of this method to reveal new mechanistic information about viral replication strategies. Examples of HIV-1 RNA evolution that were presented at the 2009 Cantoblanco meeting in Madrid will be discussed, ranging from the control of HIV-1 splicing by RNA structure to the role of cellular tRNA molecules as adaptors in an unusual HIV-1 recombination event, and from regulation of polyadenylation by RNA structure to viral escape from therapeutic pressure imposed by antiviral RNA interference. Affiliation Journal Details This article was published in the following journal. Links
Mark Pallen: Darwinian evolution of an... Evolution of a helper virus-derived, ribosome binding translational enhancer in an untranslated satellite RNA of Turnip crinkle virus - Life Sciences Social Network Gretchen’s $50 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan This week, I shopped on a different side of town than I normally do. There Inbox Dollars: Get paid to read emails, take surveys, search the web, and more by Crystal on January 17, 2014 Sign up for Inbox Dollars and you’ll get paid Sign up for the FREE Say Goodbye To Survival Mode Live Conference Call on January 21 (space is limited!) Origins of Life: General RNA Polymerases | Cassandra's Tears Yesterday, I discovered a new set of studies that I had not previously known about. I may write about all of them, but I definitely want to talk about this particular study for two reasons. The first reason is that it shows some additional evidence that the RNA World hypothesis is feasible. I will say that this is not a paper of the ‘we dumped a bunch of stuff together to see what happens’ variety. This brings up the second reason that I want to talk about this paper. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what science is all about. You can’t just sit down, do some experiments and get an answer. With all that, I give you “Ribozyme-Catalyzed Transcription of an Active Riboyzme” An important point in the RNA World hypothesis is that an RNA must be found that can synthesize a long chain RNA molecule, preferably one exactly like itself. The authors started with the general RNA polymerase R18. This is the length of nucleotide change that each version produces: They listed 3 issues Like this:
Computer simulation of evolution of primordial molecular machine As a molecular machine found in all living cells that is of central importance for the synthesis of the proteins upon which all life depends, the ribosome is perhaps the primordial example of a molecular machine. For this reason, a recent Open Access publication in the Journal of Molecular Modeling is of substantial interest to those wishing to understand how molecular machines could evolve to execute complex functions. “An information-carrying and knowledge-producing molecular machine. A Monte-Carlo simulation” presents a computer simulation of how, by a long sequence of chemical steps, a simple self-replicating oligomer in a specific environment could evolve into a machine to translate a genetic code into amino acid sequences. The analysis begins with the postulate of a simple RNA-like oligomer that is capable of replicating itself, although in an error-prone fashion that leads to frequent mutations.