It's like a NOP slide for viruses: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOP_slide Just kidding...sort of!
[flagged]
Why does the SARS-Cov2 genome end in aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? (2020)
41–50 of 125 posts
Re: Why does the SARS-Cov2 genome end in aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? (2020)
#42[flagged]
Re: Why does the SARS-Cov2 genome end in aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? (2020)
#43Re: Why does the SARS-Cov2 genome end in aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? (2020)
#44[flagged]
Re: Why does the SARS-Cov2 genome end in aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? (2020)
#45[flagged]
Re: Why does the SARS-Cov2 genome end in aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? (2020)
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
The biological equivalent of an endline
The stop codon is more like the '\n' or '\0' in computing. Polya tails protect against degradation and is used for nuclear export of RNA.
This is true, but perhaps worth noting the nuclear transport function of polyA tails don't come into play for coronavirus. The payload of coronavirus is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA. Which means it does not need to enter the nucleus for preprocessing and can basically just start replicating shortly after entering a cell. See diagram...
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Coronavi...
There might be a software analog to another polyA tail feature: the provision of a 'shelf-life'. Each replication cycle removes a few adenosines, and at a certain point the tail sequence is too short to recruit protection and the RNA is ushered into the degradation pathway.
Re: Why does the SARS-Cov2 genome end in aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? (2020)
#47[flagged]
[flagged]
Re: Why does the SARS-Cov2 genome end in aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? (2020)
#48If this sort of question fascinates you, you might like "Reverse Engineering the source code of the BioNTech/Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine"[0], an article written with a tone that I've found to resonate with engineers and like-minded folk.
[0] https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/reverse-engineering-source...
Re: Why does the SARS-Cov2 genome end in aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? (2020)
#49Nominative determinism
Re: Why does the SARS-Cov2 genome end in aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? (2020)
#50It's like a NOP slide for viruses: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOP_slide Just kidding...sort of!
User Zoe Sparks on that page covers why they don’t really feel it’s like a nop slide. I think that answer is a good supplement to the accepted one.