Resumen de No viruses?: No skin or bones either
Genes borrowed from viruses seem to give cells the ability to grow into tissues and organs, and even reproduce sexually. Without these genes, animals could not have evolved beyond simple blobs of cells. Now Felix Rey of the Pasteur Institute in Paris France, has found that the FF family of cell fusion proteins also comes from viruses. Rey's team figured out the 3D structure of the EFF-1 protein using crystallography and X-ray diffraction--the same kinds of techniques that were used to determine the structure of DNA in the 1950s. The structure of EFF-1 resembles that of a protein made by viruses, and the active part--which does the work of linking one cell to another--is virtually identical. Viruses use the protein to rip open the membrane of a cell, which they can then infect. In the worms, both cells must have the protein before they can fuse, but the protein still works in a similar way.
