Ambigrammatic Viruses

Some simple RNA viruses have a surprising property: the complementary strand of their genetic code lacks stop codons, and could code for a protein. 

I shall discuss some observations on the structure of the genetic code which explain how this 'ambigrammatic' property can evolve, and which can distinguish different explanations of why it offers a reproductive advantage.

A technique called ribosome profiling shows that the ambigrammatic viral RNA becomes covered by a string of ribosomes, which do not detach from its end. I speculate that this provides a mechanism to hide viral RNA from host cell defences, which may be utilised by more complex viruses. 

This talk reports collaboration with Hanna Retallack, Gytis Dudas, David Yllanes, Greg Huber, Amy Kistler and Joe DeRisi.