An article in Science Daily talks about a surprising discovery in a virus. The article describes how the DNA of black widow spider toxin was discovered in the genetic information of a WO virus. This was discovered in an experiment by Bordenstein and researchers at Vanderbilt University as they were studying the WO virus. The WO virus is a virus that attacks the Wolbachia bacteria. The Wolbachia bacteria are known for infecting spiders and insects, and it is used in research. The researchers did an experiment to sequence the genome to complete their study exploring the WO virus. The method that was used was sequencing the genetic information of the WO virus. Sequencing the genetic material helps researchers understand the relationships between different organisms. The researchers did not expect to find that the WO virus had DNA from an animal. It is the first time that animal DNA is found in a virus and so the results were very surprising. The black widow spider toxin was not the only DNA that was found that is similar to animal DNA. This research will continue, and it will also allow other researchers to use the findings for many reasons that could help humans.
Some of the conclusions were that with further research many diseases from mosquitoes and insects could be prevented using this virus. Today the Wolbachia bacteria are used in research that intends to prevent dengue fever and Zika virus from mosquitoes. The WO virus might therefore be another tool that can be used to prevent these diseases. It may also be helpful in engineering the Wolbachia bacteria using the WO virus. Dengue and Zika are very dangerous viruses that are passed to humans from infected mosquitoes. These methods of using genetic engineering would be safer for humans than using toxic chemicals to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.