Replies

Check the comments from #10 on down.

Maybe one of you can tell me if SARS would have been more likely to mutate in people or animals that have high levels of nasty chemicals,(PCBs,etc.),in their bodies from consumption of badly contaminated food.

It makes sense to me but I'm certainly no geneticist. ;O)

Coronavirus is an RNA virus. RNA has no built-in mechanisms to effect repair. DNA has restriction enzymes to mark bad sequences and modification enzymes to rip out the bad areas marked by the restriction enzymes. It wasn't until around 1975 that we had the first E. coli R1 mutant that lacked restriction enzymes in its genome. Once that organism was available, we could patch and play with DNA in E. coli.

Mussels are filter feeders. They pick up poison plankton (red tide) during certain times of the year. They live on whatever they can filter out of the water. Still, they are considered safe to eat during the cold months of the year after flushing the poison plankton out.

Mutagens are the class of agents that you want to investigate with respect to accelerated mutation. Sunlight in the ultraviolet range can cleave a DNA or RNA molecule. Ionizing radiation (principally beta and gamma radiation) are capable of inducing mutations. The chlorination process used to disinfect municipal water supplies produces many mutagenic byproducts. Fertilizer and pesticide runoff from lawns and agricultural activities contain many mutagens. Drinking water contains many human hormones from birth control pills and antibiotics that pass right through the user. It would be difficult to isolate any single mutagenic element as causative in the case of SARS.

"Maybe one of you can tell me if SARS would have been more likely to mutate in people or animals that have high levels of nasty chemicals,(PCBs,etc.),in their bodies from consumption of badly contaminated food"

Im not a genetic engineer myself so I cant speak with any authority on that matter but I mentioned this to one of my classmates and ex-girlfriends who just graduated from Purdue with a degree in Bio-gen. Engineering and she laughed at the idea for a good 3 or 4 minutes before asking me if I was serious...

She didnt said she would not even dignify it with a serious response because it could not be a serious question.