Repost re: possible reservoir for Ebola/Marburg

[Don Haut]

In article <3p889n$5ok at usc.edu>, chale at hsc.usc.edu wrote:

> In article
<Pine.A32.3.91.950515081823.54284C-100000 at umabnet.ab.umd.edu>,
mremingt at UMABNET.AB.UMD.EDU ("Mary P. Remington") says:
> >
> >As regard DNA and RNA not being able to infect, DNA is being used to 
> >inoculate animals and cause disease.  DNA not being infectious used to be 
> >the dogma but, this is no longer true.  Viral DNA is used to infect.  Mary
> >

I've never heard of this either.  I routinely transfect viral DNA (an
infectious clone) into tissue culture cells and get virus out afterward
and I know that people have succesfully injected naked DNA into muscle
cells and found that the cells will produce protiens (this is for possible
immunization to the protein..... If I remember correctly it was done with
Influenza virus protiens and did produce a protective response).  But
RNA????  I work with RNA every day and I cant imagine it being
infectious.  RNAses are everywhere and I cant imagine a naked RNA molecule
lasting long enough to be infectious.  As for the DNA being infectious, I
would be more inclined to believe that but I have not seen anything
published about it.  Could you give me the Refs. for those things??

Thanks

Don

Don Haut 
Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
University of Missouri-Columbia
C601591 at showme.missouri.edu