Cracking the mystery of Zika virus replication
Tuesday, July 26, 2016 - 14:51
in Biology & Nature
This is the structure of the ZIKV helicase in complex with RNA. Zika virus has now become a household word. It can cause microcephaly, a birth defect where a baby's head is smaller than usual. Additionally, it is associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a neurological disorder that could lead to paralysis and even death. However, how this microbe replicates in the infected cells remains a mystery. Now, an international team led by researchers from Tianjin University and Nankai University has unraveled the puzzle of how Zika virus replicates and published their finding in Springer's journal Protein & Cell.