Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer01:03

Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) and Cancer

5.8K
Rous Sarcoma virus or RSV was discovered by F. Peyton Rous in the year 1911 as a filterable transmissible agent that could cause tumors in chickens. He won a Nobel Prize for this discovery in 1966. His experiments clearly demonstrated that some cancers could be caused by infectious agents and led to the discovery of many more cancer-causing viruses in animals as well as humans.
RSV is a retrovirus that contains two copies of a plus-strand  RNA genome. Its genome consists of four main open...
5.8K
Leaky Scanning02:28

Leaky Scanning

5.4K
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...
5.4K
Viral Mutations00:36

Viral Mutations

37.8K
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...
37.8K
Mutations in Microorganisms01:18

Mutations in Microorganisms

292
Mutations are heritable changes in an organism’s genome involving alterations in the base sequence of DNA or RNA. These changes can influence cellular processes and phenotypic traits, potentially transforming the unaltered wild type into a mutant form. Such changes, termed forward mutations, are pivotal in shaping the genetic diversity of organisms.RNA viruses exhibit the highest mutation rates due to the absence of robust proofreading mechanisms during genome replication. In contrast,...
292
Mutations01:39

Mutations

92.0K
Overview
92.0K
Mutations01:35

Mutations

42.0K
Mutations are changes in the sequence of DNA. These changes can occur spontaneously or they can be induced by exposure to environmental factors. Mutations can be characterized in a number of different ways: whether and how they alter the amino acid sequence of the protein, whether they occur over a small or large area of DNA, and whether they occur in somatic cells or germline cells.
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
42.0K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Correction: Efficacy of polygenic risk scores and digital technologies for INNOvative personalized cardiovascular disease PREVention in high-risk adults: protocol of a randomized controlled trial.

Frontiers in public health·2025
Same author

Design, synthesis and in vitro validation of bivalent binders of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein: Obeticholic, betulinic and glycyrrhetinic acids as building blocks.

Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry·2025
Same author

Integrated analyses of the transmission history of SARS-CoV-2 and its association with molecular evolution of the virus underlining the pandemic outbreaks in Italy, 2019-2023.

International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases·2024
Same author

Efficacy of polygenic risk scores and digital technologies for INNOvative personalized cardiovascular disease PREVention in high-risk adults: protocol of a randomized controlled trial.

Frontiers in public health·2024
Same author

Phylodynamic and Evolution of the Hemagglutinin (HA) and Neuraminidase (NA) Genes of Influenza A(H1N1) pdm09 Viruses Circulating in the 2009 and 2023 Seasons in Italy.

Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)·2024
Same author

Comprehensive Analysis of HIV-1 Integrase Resistance-Related Mutations in African Countries.

Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 24, 2025

Isolation of Fidelity Variants of RNA Viruses and Characterization of Virus Mutation Frequency
18:10

Isolation of Fidelity Variants of RNA Viruses and Characterization of Virus Mutation Frequency

Published on: June 16, 2011

29.9K

SARS-Cov-2 ORF3a: Mutability and function.

Martina Bianchi1, Alessandra Borsetti2, Massimo Ciccozzi3

  • 1Department of Biochemical Sciences "A. Rossi Fanelli", Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy.

International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
|December 28, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) ORF3a protein mutations during the pandemic revealed seventeen variants. Ten variants are in the transmembrane domain, potentially impacting virus replication and therapeutic strategies.

Keywords:
Conserved sitesMutated sitesORF3aPoreQ57HSARS-CoV-2

More Related Videos

Studying Ribonucleotide Incorporation: Strand-specific Detection of Ribonucleotides in the Yeast Genome and Measuring Ribonucleotide-induced Mutagenesis
09:04

Studying Ribonucleotide Incorporation: Strand-specific Detection of Ribonucleotides in the Yeast Genome and Measuring Ribonucleotide-induced Mutagenesis

Published on: July 26, 2018

8.0K
Engineering Antiviral Agents via Surface Plasmon Resonance
13:00

Engineering Antiviral Agents via Surface Plasmon Resonance

Published on: June 14, 2022

2.6K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Nov 24, 2025

Isolation of Fidelity Variants of RNA Viruses and Characterization of Virus Mutation Frequency
18:10

Isolation of Fidelity Variants of RNA Viruses and Characterization of Virus Mutation Frequency

Published on: June 16, 2011

29.9K
Studying Ribonucleotide Incorporation: Strand-specific Detection of Ribonucleotides in the Yeast Genome and Measuring Ribonucleotide-induced Mutagenesis
09:04

Studying Ribonucleotide Incorporation: Strand-specific Detection of Ribonucleotides in the Yeast Genome and Measuring Ribonucleotide-induced Mutagenesis

Published on: July 26, 2018

8.0K
Engineering Antiviral Agents via Surface Plasmon Resonance
13:00

Engineering Antiviral Agents via Surface Plasmon Resonance

Published on: June 14, 2022

2.6K

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • The SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a protein is crucial for viral replication and release.
  • Understanding mutations in conserved viral proteins is vital for tracking viral evolution and developing therapeutics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze changes in the SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a protein throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • To identify frequent mutations and conserved sites within the ORF3a protein.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 70,752 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from the GISAID databank (up to August 2020).
  • Grouping ORF3a mutations by collection date intervals.
  • Identifying and examining the top five most frequent variants within each interval.

Main Results:

  • Seventeen distinct ORF3a variants were identified.
  • Ten of these variants are located within the transmembrane (TM) domain, potentially affecting the protein's pore or tunnels.
  • The most frequent mutations identified were V13L, Q57H, Q57H + A99V, G196V, and G252V.
  • Twenty-eight sites were found to be conserved across all isolates, suggesting roles in protein stabilization and cellular interactions.

Conclusions:

  • The study identified significant mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a protein during the pandemic.
  • Mutations within the TM domain may influence viral biology.
  • Conserved sites highlight potential targets for therapeutic strategies.