A retrovirus makes chicken eggshells blue
When you purchase chicken eggs at the market, they usually have white or brown shells. But some breeds of chicken produce blue or green eggs. The blue color is caused by insertion of a retrovirus into the chicken genome, which activates a gene involved in the production of blue eggs.
The Araucana, a chicken breed from Chile, and Dongxiang and Lushi chickens in China lay blue eggs. Blue eggshell color is controlled by an autosomal dominant gene: eggs produced by homozygote chickens are darker blue than those from heterozygotes. The gene causing blue eggshell color is called oocyan (O) and was previously mapped to the shor...
Source: virology blog - September 12, 2013 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information blue eggs chicken EAV-HP eggshell color endogenous insertional activation provirus retrovirus viral Source Type: blogs
A retrovirus makes chicken eggshells blue
When you purchase chicken eggs at the market, they usually have white or brown shells. But some breeds of chicken produce blue or green eggs. The blue color is caused by insertion of a retrovirus into the chicken genome, which activates a gene involved in the production of blue eggs.
The Araucana, a chicken breed from Chile, and Dongxiang and Lushi chickens in China lay blue eggs. Blue eggshell color is controlled by an autosomal dominant gene: eggs produced by homozygote chickens are darker blue than those from heterozygotes. The gene causing blue eggshell color is called oocyan (O) and was previously mapped to the shor...
Source: virology blog - September 12, 2013 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information blue eggs chicken EAV-HP eggshell color endogenous insertional activation provirus retrovirus viral Source Type: blogs
Inadvertent transfer of a mammalian retrovirus into birds
Reticuloendotheliosis viruses (REVs) are retroviruses that cause a rare disease of gamebirds and waterfowl that includes anemia, immunosuppression, neoplasia, runting, and abnormal feathering. Since the first isolation of REV from a turkey in 1957, REVs were believed to be strictly avian viruses. It now appears that REVs are mammalian viruses that were accidentally introduced into birds in the 1930s during research on malaria.
During an investigation of endogenous retrovirus diversity in Malagasy mammals, the authors found sequences related to REVs in the genomes of the ring-tailed mongoose and the narrow-striped mongoose....
Source: virology blog - August 27, 2013 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information bird fowlpox virus gallid herpesvirus iatrogenic reticuloendotheliosis virus viral Source Type: blogs
Inadvertent transfer of a mammalian retrovirus into birds
Reticuloendotheliosis viruses (REVs) are retroviruses that cause a rare disease of gamebirds and waterfowl that includes anemia, immunosuppression, neoplasia, runting, and abnormal feathering. Since the first isolation of REV from a turkey in 1957, REVs were believed to be strictly avian viruses. It now appears that REVs are mammalian viruses that were accidentally introduced into birds in the 1930s during research on malaria.
During an investigation of endogenous retrovirus diversity in Malagasy mammals, the authors found sequences related to REVs in the genomes of the ring-tailed mongoose and the narrow-striped mongoose....
Source: virology blog - August 27, 2013 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information bird fowlpox virus gallid herpesvirus iatrogenic reticuloendotheliosis virus viral Source Type: blogs
TWiV 246: Pandora, pandemics, and privacy
On episode #246 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, Rich, and Kathy discuss the huge Pandoravirus, virologists planning H7N9 gain of function experiments, and limited access to the HeLa cell genome sequence.
You can find TWiV #246 at www.twiv.tv.
We recorded this episode of TWiV as a Google hangout on air. Consequently the audio is not the same quality as you might be used to. But the tradeoff is that you can see each of us on video.
(Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - August 18, 2013 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology avian influenza H7N9 fouchier gain of function genome HeLa henrietta lacks kawaoka mimivirus Pandoravirus sequence viral Source Type: blogs
Influenza H7N9 gain of function experiments on Dispatch Radio
I spoke with Robert Herriman, executive editor of The Global Dispatch, about the proposed avian influenza H7N9 virus gain of function experiments on Dispatch Radio. (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - August 14, 2013 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Commentary Information fouchier gain of function h7n9 influenza kawaoka viral virus Source Type: blogs
Virologists plan influenza H7N9 gain of function experiments
A group of virologists lead by Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Ron Fouchier have sent a letter to Nature and Science outlining the experiments they propose to carry out with influenza H7N9 virus.
Avian influenza H7N9 virus has caused over 130 human infections in China with 43 fatalities. The source of the virus is not known but is suspected to be wet market poultry. No human to human transmission have been detected, and the outbreak seems to be under control. According to the authors of the letter, the virus could re-emerge this winter, and therefore additional work is needed to assess the risk of human infection.
The research that ...
Source: virology blog - August 7, 2013 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Commentary Information aerosol transmission ferret fouchier gain of function GOF H5N1 h7n9 influenza kawaoka pandemic viral virus Source Type: blogs
Building Unity Farm - The Barn Swallows of Unity Farm
One of the side effects of creating the orchard at Unity farm was opening about 2 acres of airspace adjacent to our pasture. This has attracted many new species of birds which now dance and dive in the clearing between our woodland and marsh. Since adding the orchard we've seen a significant increase in our barn swallow population. Throughout the day, at least 5 adults dash at high speed around their own open air playground, eating mosquitos and enjoying their social community of birds.Our barn has two sliding doors which open to the male and female paddocks. The swallows retreat to the ...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - July 18, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Source Type: blogs
Fever, Friend or Foe?
The audio and slides for this SMACC talk are at the bottom of this blog post
Fever is so hot right now…
‘Humanity has but three great enemies: fever, famine and war; of these by far the greatest, by far the most terrible, is fever’
— William Osler1
Fever is one of the cardinal signs of infection and — nearly 120 years after William Osler’s statement in his address to the 47th annual meeting of the American Medical Association on The Study of the Fevers of the South1 — infectious diseases remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality2. Despite this, it is unclear whether fever itself is truly the enemy or w...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - July 10, 2013 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Paul Young Tags: Emergency Medicine Featured Infectious Disease Intensive Care critical care Fever Friend or Foe ICU paul young SEPSIS SMACC Source Type: blogs
June 2013 Scientific Pandemic Influenza Advisory Committee (SPI-M): subgroup on modelling
This SPI-M modelling summary represents their consensus view. It is a
working document, updated after each meeting of the subgroup, to record
the group’s advice in a form that can be immediately used to assist in
the formulation of policy.
Modelling summary
Department of Health - publications (Source: Health Management Specialist Library)
Source: Health Management Specialist Library - June 24, 2013 Category: UK Health Authors: The King's Fund Information & Library Service Tags: Local authorities, public health and health inequalities Source Type: blogs
A single amino acid change switches avian influenza H5N1 and H7N9 viruses to human receptors
Two back-to-back papers were published last week that provide a detailed analysis of what it would take for avian influenza H5N1 and H7N9 viruses to switch to human receptors.
Influenza virus initiates infection by attaching to the cell surface, a process mediated by binding of the viral hemagglutinin protein (HA) to sialic acid. This sugar is found on glycoproteins, which are polypeptide chains decorated with chains of sugars. The way that sialic acid is linked to the next sugar molecule determines what kind of influenza viruses will bind. Human influenza viruses prefer to attach to sialic acids linked to the second sugar...
Source: virology blog - June 11, 2013 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information avian influenza evolution H5N1 h7n9 mutation pandemic receptor binding site sialic acid viral virus Source Type: blogs
