‘Enigma code’ of common-cold virus may be deciphered

Scientists have identified a ‘hidden code’ of key DNA sequences in a virus from the same family as the common cold. The sequences, which are required to assemble the virus, appear to be identical in all strains and are dispersed across the genome, raising the possibility of a new drug target to treat all strains of a virus. ‘Previously scientists have assumed that the signals regulating the assembly of a virus were located in a unique area of the genome,’ said Professor Reidun Twarock, a mathematical biologist at the University of York, and co-author of the study. ‘Using a combination of biological insight and mathematical modelling, our study suggests that, by contrast, the mechanism relies on multiple dispersed sites in the genome that act together in a cooperative way to enable efficient virus formation.’ The regions were identified in the human parechovirus, a member of the picornavirus family, which includes the viruses responsible...