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Updated: May 11, 2026

Protocols for Investigating the Host-tissue Distribution, Transmission-mode, and Effect on the Host Fitness of a Densovirus in the Cotton Bollworm

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Virus-host co-evolution under a modified nuclear genetic code.

Derek J Taylor¹, Matthew J Ballinger, Shaun M Bowman

¹Department of Biological Sciences, The State University of New York at Buffalo , Buffalo, NY , USA.

|May 3, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study reveals the first known RNA virus infecting a fungus with a modified genetic code, where CUG codons code for serine. Viral and host adaptations suggest co-evolution between totiviruses and yeasts with altered genetic codes.

Keywords:

Co-evolution Genetic code NIRV Paleovirology Totivirus Yeast

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Bacterial Artificial Chromosomes: A Functional Genomics Tool for the Study of Positive-strand RNA Viruses

Bacterial Artificial Chromosomes: A Functional Genomics Tool for the Study of Positive-strand RNA Viruses

Published on: December 29, 2015

Area of Science:

Virology
Mycology
Evolutionary Biology
Genetics

Background:

Eukaryotes with modified nuclear genetic codes are known, but viruses infecting them were previously undiscovered.
The genetic code, a fundamental biological system, can undergo modifications, particularly in certain yeast species.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify and characterize RNA viruses infecting fungal hosts with derived nuclear genetic codes.
To investigate the evolutionary interplay between such viruses and their hosts, focusing on genetic code alterations.

Main Methods:

Genomic analysis of fungal isolates to identify viral presence and characteristics.
Phylogenetic analysis to determine viral relationships and evolutionary history.
Mass spectrometry to detect host co-option of viral genes.

Main Results:

Evidence of a double-stranded RNA virus, likely a totivirus, infecting the yeast Scheffersomyces segobiensis, which possesses a CUG-serine genetic code.
Totivirus infection found in five yeast species with modified genetic codes.
Viral genomes show a significant reduction in CUG codons, indicating adaptation to the host's genetic code.
A related yeast species has integrated and expresses a totivirus capsid gene as a cellular protein.

Conclusions:

This research presents the first documented instance of a virus infecting a eukaryote with a modified nuclear genetic code.
The findings suggest a co-evolutionary relationship between totiviruses and yeasts, driven by the host's genetic code transition.
Host co-option of viral genes highlights a unique evolutionary dynamic between viruses and their hosts.