A recombinant virus may occur naturally or be produced by recombining pieces of DNA using

recombinant DNA Recombinant DNA (rDNA) molecules are DNA molecules formed by laboratory methods of genetic recombination (such as molecular cloning) that bring together genetic material from multiple sources, creating sequences that would not otherwise be fo ...

technology.

Synthetic recombination

This may be used to produce viral vaccines or

gene therapy Gene therapy is a medical field which focuses on the genetic modification of cells to produce a therapeutic effect or the treatment of disease by repairing or reconstructing defective genetic material. The first attempt at modifying human DN ...

vectors.

Natural recombination

The term is also used to refer to naturally occurring recombination between virus genomes in a cell infected by more than one

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...

strain. This occurs either by

Homologous recombination Homologous recombination is a type of genetic recombination in which genetic information is exchanged between two similar or identical molecules of double-stranded or single-stranded nucleic acids (usually DNA as in cellular organisms but may ...

of the nucleic acid strands or by

reassortment Reassortment is the mixing of the genetic material of a species into new combinations in different individuals. Several different processes contribute to reassortment, including assortment of chromosomes, and chromosomal crossover. It is particul ...

of genomic segments. Both these and

mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA replication, DNA or viral repl ...

within the virus have been suggested as ways in which influenza and other viruses evolve. An example of a recombinant virus is

Western equine encephalitis virus The Western equine encephalomyelitis virus is the causative agent of relatively uncommon viral disease ''Western equine encephalomyelitis'' (WEE). An alphavirus of the family '' Togaviridae'', the WEE virus is an arbovirus (arthropod-borne vir ...

(WEE), which is a recombinant virus between two other closely related yet distinct encephalitis viruses. In addition,

is most important for pandemic influenza viruses.

References

Recombination Resulting in Virulence Shift in Avian Influenza Outbreak, Chile. Suarez et al 2009

Homologous Recombination as an Evolutionary Force in the Avian Influenza A Virus. He at al 2008

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Recombinant Virus Virology Influenza

Synthetic recombination

Natural recombination

See also

References

External links