The unusual ‘mutations’ that protect humans from viruses | Explained
1 year, 1 month ago

The unusual ‘mutations’ that protect humans from viruses | Explained

The Hindu  

Anyone can access all the research papers in medicine and biology via the free search engine PubMed. The piRNA guides the search for RNA and DNA that have the same sequence as the piRNA, and the piwi proteins destroy the targeted RNA, or simply turn ‘off’ the targeted gene. If by chance it integrates into a piRNA cluster, the cluster will develop the ability to make piRNA that can identify the same sequence in the host RNA and DNA and destroy it. So the active and silenced versions of a paramutated gene share the same DNA sequence but their associated proteins have different modifications. Paramutations vs. viruses The piRNA from one cluster can paramutate viral DNA copies inserted elsewhere in the genome, outside of the clusters.

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