SOME viruses may get a head start in the infection process by sending RNA as
well as DNA into cells. Thomas Shenk and Wade Bresnahan of Princeton University,
New Jersey, found that in human cytomegaloviruses, the mRNA transcripts for four
different genes are injected into the host cell along with the virus’s DNA
genome (Science, vol 288, p 2373). While the DNA travels to the nucleus
to be read, the RNA molecules can direct the production of proteins straight
away.
“The principal benefit to the virus is likely to be the potential to express
a set of proteins before…
