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Related Concept Videos

Human Virome01:26

Human Virome

The human body harbors a vast and diverse viral community known as the human virome. The virome includes bacteriophages that infect bacteria, and eukaryotic viruses that infect human cells. Transient dietary and environmental viruses also contribute to this dynamic ecosystem. Estimates suggest the human body may contain on the order of 10¹³ viral particles, though abundance varies widely by body site and detection method.Comprehensive characterization of the virome has become possible only with...
Leaky Scanning02:28

Leaky Scanning

During most eukaryotic translation processes, the small 40S ribosome subunit scans an mRNA from its 5' end until it encounters the first start AUG codon. The large 60S ribosomal subunit then joins the smaller one to initiate protein synthesis. The location of the translation initiation is largely determined by the nucleotides near the start codon as there may be multiple translation initiation sites present on the mRNA.  Marilyn Kozak discovered that the sequence RCCAUGG (where R stands for...
Bacteriophages of the Human Virome01:23

Bacteriophages of the Human Virome

Bacteriophages are found throughout the human body. They may even outnumber eukaryotic viruses, forming an important and dynamic component of the human virome. Indeed, phages represent the most abundant viral entities, with densities in the gut reaching up to 10⁹ particles per gram of fecal matter, and many belonging to orders such as Caudovirales and Microviridae, while a substantial proportion remains unclassified as viral “dark matter.”Lysogeny and Genetic ExchangeIn the gut, bacteriophages...
Viral Recombination00:57

Viral Recombination

Cells are sometimes infected by more than one virus at once. When two viruses disassemble to expose their genomes for replication in the same cell, similar regions of their genomes can pair together and exchange sequences in a process called recombination. Alternatively, viruses with segmented genomes can swap segments in a process called reassortment.
Peptide Identification Using Tandem Mass Spectrometry01:33

Peptide Identification Using Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Tandem mass spectrometry, also known as MS/MS or MS2, is an analytical technique that employs two mass analyzers. Essentially it is a series of mass spectrometers that helps isolate a particular biomolecule and then helps study its chemical properties.
This technique helps gather information regarding the protein from which the peptide was obtained and to study the peptides’ amino acid sequence. Identifying peptides from a complex mixture is an important component of the growing field of...
Size and Structure of Viral Genomes01:26

Size and Structure of Viral Genomes

Viral genomes exhibit remarkable diversity in size, structure, and composition, influencing their replication strategies and interactions with host cells. These genomes consist of either DNA or RNA and may be linear or circular. Additionally, they can be single-stranded or double-stranded, with each configuration affecting how the virus propagates within a host. RNA viruses, for instance, generally have smaller genomes than DNA viruses, a factor that contributes to their high mutation rates and...

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Related Experiment Video

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Peptide-based Identification of Functional Motifs and their Binding Partners
14:28

Peptide-based Identification of Functional Motifs and their Binding Partners

Published on: June 30, 2013

Massive peptide sharing between viral and human proteomes.

Darja Kanduc1, Angela Stufano, Guglielmo Lucchese

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Bari, Bari 70126, Italy. d.kanduc@biologia.uniba.it

Peptides
|June 28, 2008
PubMed
Summary

This study reveals extensive amino acid sequence overlaps between viral and human proteomes, suggesting shared peptide building blocks. This finding challenges the distinct classification of viruses and humans and impacts understanding of autoimmune disease origins.

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Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Proteomics
  • Immunology
  • Bioinformatics

Background:

  • The evolutionary relationship between viral and human proteomes is not fully understood.
  • Previous research has not extensively quantified sequence similarities across diverse viral families and the human proteome.
  • The role of molecular mimicry in virus-induced autoimmunity remains a key area of investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically compare viral proteomes with the human proteome for amino acid sequence similarity.
  • To investigate the extent of shared peptide motifs between viruses and humans.
  • To explore the implications of these findings for viral classification and autoimmune disease pathogenesis.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 30 viral proteomes for pentapeptide overlaps with the human proteome.
  • Parallel analysis of 30 sets of human proteins for internal overlapping as a control.
  • Comparative sequence analysis using bioinformatics tools to identify shared amino acid motifs.

Main Results:

  • All 30 examined viral proteomes exhibited a significant number of pentapeptide overlaps with the human proteome.
  • Human T-lymphotropic virus 1, Rubella virus, and hepatitis C virus showed the highest overlap frequencies.
  • Widespread distribution of viral sequences within the human proteome suggests common peptide backbone units.

Conclusions:

  • Viral and human proteins share common peptide building blocks, indicating compositional chimerism.
  • The extensive sequence overlap challenges the strict phylogenetic separation of viruses and Homo sapiens.
  • The findings raise questions about the direct causal link between viral-host sequence sharing and autoimmune reactions.