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Sunday, August 15, 2021

08-15-2021-0008 - Defective interfering particles

 

Predicted secondary structure of the Coronavirus SL-III cis-acting replication element, a genomic structure required for BCoV DI RNA replication[1]

Defective interfering particles (DIPs), also known as defective interfering viruses, are spontaneously generated virus mutants in which a critical portion of the particle's genome has been lost due to defective replication or non-homologous recombination.[2][3] The mechanism of their formation is presumed to be as a result of template-switching during replication of the viral genome, although non-replicative mechanisms involving direct ligation of genomic RNA fragments have also been proposed.[4][5] DIPs are derived from and associated with their parent virus, and particles are classed as DIPs if they are rendered non-infectious due to at least one essential gene of the virus being lost or severely damaged as a result of the defection.[6] A DIP can usually still penetrate host cells, but requires another fully functional virus particle (the 'helper' virus) to co-infecta cell with it, in order to provide the lost factors.[7][8]

DIPs were first observed as early as the 1950s by Von Magnus and Schlesinger, both working with influenza viruses.[9] However, the formalization of DIPs terminology was in 1970 by Huang and Baltimore when they noticed the presence of ‘stumpy’ particles of vesicular stomatitis virus in electron micrographs.[10] DIPs can occur within nearly every class of both DNA and RNA viruses both in clinical and laboratory settings including poliovirusSARS coronavirusmeaslesalphavirusesrespiratory syncytial virus and influenza virus.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defective_interfering_particle

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