Meaning of viral sex | Babel Free

Definitions

The process by which two viruses meet in a single host and reproduce to create a new virus that includes genetic material from both of them.

uncountable

Examples

“Bacterial and viral sex, we believe, evolved in response to nucleic acid-threatening radiation and led to the spread of genes as "small genetic entities" in protected packets [Sonea and Panisett, 1983].”

“Once each of the eight gene segments have been sequenced, he says, it will be possible to recreate viral sex in the lab, inserting one segment at a time into an everyday human flu strain.”

“Phages are well known for mistakenly incorporating bits of DNA from one host and carrying them to the next, thereby spreading genetic material rapidly between their host bacteria. In the marine environment, this behaviour, which has been referred to as 'viral sex', seems to be rife, with viruses capturing host genes and passing them around the community”

CEFR level