Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle WA USA.
Curr Opin Virol. 2011 Oct;1(4):304-9. doi: 10.1016/j.coviro.2011.06.007.
The emerging field of paleovirology aims to study the evolutionary age and impact of ancient viruses (paleoviruses) on host biology. Despite a historical emphasis on retroviruses, paleoviral 'fossils' have recently been uncovered from a broad swathe of viruses. These viral imprints have upended long-held notions of the age and mutation rate of viruses. While 'direct' paleovirology relies on the insertion of viral genes in animal genomes, examination of adaptive changes in host genes that occurred in response to paleoviral infections provides a complementary strategy for making 'indirect' paleovirological inferences. Finally, viruses have also impacted host biology by providing genes hosts have domesticated for their own purpose.
古病毒学是一个新兴领域,旨在研究远古病毒(古病毒)对宿主生物学的进化年龄和影响。尽管历史上重点研究逆转录病毒,但最近从广泛的病毒中发现了古病毒的“化石”。这些病毒印记颠覆了人们对病毒年龄和突变率的长期看法。虽然“直接”古病毒学依赖于病毒基因在动物基因组中的插入,但对宿主基因因古病毒感染而发生的适应性变化的研究为做出“间接”古病毒学推论提供了一种补充策略。最后,病毒还通过为宿主提供基因,使宿主为自己的目的而驯化,从而影响宿主生物学。