Gene Hijacked By HIV Ancestor Suggests New Way to Block Viral Reproduction
Monday, December 7, 2009 - 19:07
in Biology & Nature
(PhysOrg.com) -- An ancestor of the AIDS virus hijacked an entire gene, perhaps from some prehistoric cat it had infected, a gene that makes it much better able to infect humans, according to a study published online today in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. The discovery represents the first instance in which researchers have found an entire animal gene within the genome of the human immunodeficiency virus despite 30 years of intense analyses.