Beneficial Uses of Viruses in Biotechnology

—Viruses can be used as vectors to deliver genetic material into cells

—Viral vectors are used in basic research, gene therapy and the development of vaccines

Examples of viral vectors: Retroviruses and adenoviruses

Basic research:

—Protein coding genes can be expressed using viral vectors, commonly to study the function of the particular protein

—Example: Marker genes such as GFP are widely used to permanently label cells to track them and their progeny

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Gene therapy:

—Correcting defective genes responsible for disease development

Most diseases are a result of mutations in the DNA sequence for specific genes

ügene therapy uses viruses to deliver unmutated copies of these genes to the cells of the patient’s body

—Vaccines and vaccine carrier/delivery vehicles:

Viruses expressing pathogen proteins are developed as vaccines against pathogens

üA viral vaccine induces the expression of pathogen proteins within host cells similarly to attenuated vaccines