Biology 1001A Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Central Dogma Of Molecular Biology, Sub-Saharan Africa, Reverse Transcriptase
Document Summary
Zoonosis: infectious disease that is transmitted between species. Hiv is zoonotic because the disease can cross from one species to another. No place for viruses in the tree of life. Anti-viral drugs have serious side effects because they use host cell. Hiv is a retrovirus: they disobey central dogma of molecular biology. Central dogma states that there is a one way flow of information: dna transcribed into rna translated into protein. This is why mutation rate is so high, and hiv is so genetically variable. Transcription,, translation, new virions assemble and enter circulation. To minimize side effects, attack steps unique to the virus. Reverse transcriptase (rt) is unique to retroviruses, so this can be attacked and the host cell will not be affected. Azt is picked up by the reverse transcriptase, inhibits. The virus evolves and develops resistance to azt. These mutations are just random mistakes, but they result in populations of virus that are azt-resistant.