While human changes to the environment cause conservation biologists to worry about species extinction, Yale biologists are reversing the logic by trying to trap viruses in habitats that force their extinction, according to a report in Ecology Letters.
To avoid going extinct a population must not only survive, but also reproduce. Paul Turner, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale, tested the practicality of luring a virus population into the wrong cells within the human body, thus preventing virus reproduction and alleviating disease.
“Ecological traps for viruses might arise naturally, or could be engineered by adding viral binding sites to cells that disallow virus reproduction,†said senior author Turner. “We proved the concept using a non-human virus, and variants of the bacteria cells it infects.â€
In ecology, a habitat that supports population growth is termed a “source,†whereas a non-supportive habitat is a “sink.†This study reported on the success of phi-6 virus populations in environments containing different mixtures of ordinary “source†bacteria and mutant trap cells that act as “sinks.â€
Their research showed that when the number of trap cells exceeded a key threshold in the mixtures, the virus population could no longer sustain itself and declined toward extinction.
http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/07-02-12-04.all.html
