REASSORTANT VIRUS Meaning and
Definition
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A reassortant virus is a type of virus that emerges through genetic reassortment, which occurs when two or more different strains of a virus infect the same host cell and exchange their genetic material. This process is commonly observed among segmented RNA viruses, such as the influenza virus.
In reassortment, the gene segments of the parental viruses mix and recombine to produce a new viral strain with a unique combination of genes. This genetic recombination can lead to the emergence of novel viruses with modified pathogenicity, transmissibility, or antigenic properties.
Reassortant viruses can pose significant challenges in terms of public health and epidemiology. Due to their ability to acquire genetic material from different strains, they can bypass existing immunity in a population, leading to the potential for widespread outbreaks or pandemics. This is particularly relevant for reassortant influenza viruses, which are known to cause severe illnesses and have the potential to cause global epidemics.
The emergence of reassortant viruses often requires the co-circulation or co-infection of different strains in a population of susceptible hosts, such as humans or animals. The process of reassortment can occur naturally or artificially, as observed in laboratory settings during vaccine development.
In summary, a reassortant virus is a result of genetic reassortment between different strains, leading to the emergence of a new viral variant with potential implications for public health and epidemiology.
Common Misspellings for REASSORTANT VIRUS
- eeassortant virus
- deassortant virus
- feassortant virus
- teassortant virus
- 5eassortant virus
- 4eassortant virus
- rwassortant virus
- rsassortant virus
- rdassortant virus
- rrassortant virus
- r4assortant virus
- r3assortant virus
- rezssortant virus
- resssortant virus
- rewssortant virus
- reqssortant virus
- reaasortant virus
- reazsortant virus
- reaxsortant virus
- readsortant virus
Etymology of REASSORTANT VIRUS
The word "reassortant virus" has a fairly straightforward etymology. "Reassortant" is formed by combining the prefix "re-" meaning "again" or "back", and "assortant" which is derived from the verb "assort", meaning to arrange or categorize different things into groups. In the context of viruses, "assortant" refers to a virus that has undergone reassortment, a process by which genetic material from two or more viral strains is exchanged or mixed, resulting in a new combination of genetic material in the offspring virus. Therefore, a "reassortant virus" is a virus that is the product of reassortment.
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