Something’s off.Two BC200-derived DNA fragments reportedly were found in molluscum contagiosum virus. BC200 is especially active in neurons, but the fragments are not a complete gene copy and do not give the virus brain-like function.
The unusual part is that BC200 appears to have kept the mobility of its origins as a “jumping” DNA element despite also taking on a cellular role. Researchers reportedly reconstructed two separate transfers from DNA signatures and propose that another mobile element, LINE-1, supplied the copying machinery.
The reported analysis found that the viral fragments are transcribed into RNA, but what they do in the virus—and whether the virus benefits—remains unknown. The account also says the work does not show that the virus became more dangerous.
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