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In a new paper led by @annasimsbiol, we find that influenza infections divide your throat into tiny territories, and ask:
why don’t these viruses want to be friends?
Paper doi.org/10.1371/journa…
Commentary doi.org/10.1371/journa…
A 🧵
why don’t these viruses want to be friends?
Paper doi.org/10.1371/journa…
Commentary doi.org/10.1371/journa…
A 🧵
Some background: If two viruses get into the same cell, they can genes exchange (basically they can breed). This is really important for viral evolution. A dramatic example is when different strains of influenza A virus (IAVs) use coinfection to generate pandemic strains
Many viruses actively push back against coinfection, changing an infected cell until it becomes resistant to infection by related viruses. This effect is known as ‘superinfection exclusion’ (SIE)
In a new preprint led by @annasimsbiol, we ask:
Why Don’t These Viruses Want to be Friends?
A 🧵...
biorxiv.org/cgi/content/sh…
Why Don’t These Viruses Want to be Friends?
A 🧵...
biorxiv.org/cgi/content/sh…
Coinfection is an important aspect of viral evolution. If two viruses can get into the same cell, they can undergo genetic exchange. A dramatic example of this is when different strains of influenza A virus (IAVs) use coinfection to generate novel pandemic strains
However, many viruses actively push back against coinfection. In a variety of ways, they change an infected cell until it becomes resistant to infection by related viruses. This effect is known as superinfection exclusion (SIE)
