Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 10, 2026
09:25
Rapid, Seamless Generation of Recombinant Poxviruses using Host Range and Visual Selection
Published on: May 24, 2020
Recombination among picornaviruses.
1M.P. Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitides, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow Region, Russia. alexander_lukashev@hotmail.com
Reviews in Medical Virology
|July 16, 2010
Summary
Natural recombination in picornaviruses drives diversity and stability. This genetic shuffling maintains a global pool of virus information, impacting diagnostics and epidemiology.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Picornaviruses are small, non-enveloped, positive-strand RNA viruses with significant human and animal health impacts.
- These viruses exhibit high diversification and global prevalence, posing challenges in disease control.
- Natural recombination is a recognized genetic feature across most picornavirus genera.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the evidence of recombination in the family Picornaviridae.
- To discuss the implications of recombination for virus diagnostics, epidemiology, and classification.
- To explore the dual role of recombination in promoting diversity and maintaining genetic stability.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of existing studies on picornavirus recombination.
- Analysis of genetic data and epidemiological trends related to recombinant picornaviruses.
- Synthesis of evidence from various picornavirus genera.
Main Results:
- Recombination is a widespread phenomenon in picornaviruses, particularly in genera like enteroviruses, aphthoviruses, parechoviruses, and cardioviruses.
- Short-term recombination promotes virus diversity, leading to the emergence of new recombinant strains.
- Long-term recombination stabilizes the gene pool by shuffling sequences, limiting speciation.
Conclusions:
- Recombination is a critical evolutionary mechanism shaping picornavirus populations.
- Understanding recombination is essential for accurate diagnostics, effective epidemiological surveillance, and robust classification systems.
- The dynamic interplay of recombination and epidemiology maintains a global genetic reservoir for picornaviruses.
Related Concept Videos
00:57Viral 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.
02:53Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation
Because the DNA segments are cut and reorganized in a direction-specific manner, site-specific recombination has emerged as an efficient genetic engineering technique. Flippase and Cyclization recombinases or Flp and Cre, respectively, are two members of the tyrosine recombinase family derived from bacteriophages, that are used to mediate site-specific DNA insertions, deletions, and targeted expression of proteins in mammalian cell lines.
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
02:32Exon Recombination
The evolution of new genes is critical for speciation. Exon recombination, also known as exon shuffling or domain shuffling, is an important means of new gene formation. It is observed across vertebrates, invertebrates, and in some plants such as potatoes and sunflowers. During exon recombination, exons from the same or different genes recombine and produce new exon-intron combinations, which might evolve into new genes.
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon has three reading...
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon has three reading...
00:36Viral Mutations
A mutation is a change in the sequence of bases of DNA or RNA in a genome. Some mutations occur during replication of the genome due to errors made by the polymerase enzymes that replicate DNA or RNA. Unlike DNA polymerase, RNA polymerase is prone to errors because it is not capable of “proofreading” its work. Viruses with RNA-based genomes, like HIV, therefore accrue mutations faster than viruses with DNA-based genomes. Because mutation and recombination provide the raw material for adaptive...
01:10Retrovirus Life Cycles
Retroviruses have a single-stranded RNA genome that undergoes a special form of replication. Once the retrovirus has entered the host cell, an enzyme called reverse transcriptase synthesizes double-stranded DNA from the retroviral RNA genome. This DNA copy of the genome is then integrated into the host’s genome inside the nucleus via an enzyme called integrase. Consequently, the retroviral genome is transcribed into RNA whenever the host’s genome is transcribed, allowing the retrovirus to...
02:33Retroviruses
Retroviruses and retrotransposons both insert copies of their genetic elements into the genome of the host cell. Thus, the viral genes are passed on when the host genome is replicated or translated. A typical retroviral DNA sequence contains 3-4 genes that encode the different proteins required for its structural assembly and function as a molecular parasite. This DNA is transcribed into a single mRNA, which is very similar in structure to conventional mRNAs, i.e., it is capped at the 5’...