Ancient Gene Capture and Recent Gene Loss Shape the Evolution of Orthopoxvirus-Host Interaction Genes.

ABSTRACT: The survival of viruses depends on their ability to resist host defenses and, of all animal virus families, the poxviruses have the most antidefense genes. Orthopoxviruses (ORPV), a genus within the subfamily Chordopoxvirinae, infect diverse mammals and include one of the most devastating human pathogens, the now eradicated smallpox virus. ORPV encode ∼200 genes, of which roughly half are directly involved in virus genome replication and expression as well as virion morphogenesis. The remaining ∼100 "accessory" genes are responsible for virus-host interactions, particularly counter-defense of innate immunity. Complete sequences are currently available for several hundred ORPV genomes isolated from a variety of mammalian hosts, providing a rich resource for comparative genomic

SUBMITTER: Senkevich TG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8406176 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature