Читать книгу Principles of Virology - Jane Flint, S. Jane Flint - Страница 142

The application of genetic methods to study the structure and function of animal viral genes and proteins began with development of the plaque assay by Renato Dulbecco in 1952. This assay permitted the preparation of clonal stocks of virus, the measurement of virus titers, and a convenient system for studying viruses with conditional lethal mutations. Although a limited repertoire of classical genetic methods was available, the mutants that were isolated (Box 3.6) were invaluable in elucidating many aspects of infectious cycles and cell transformation. Contemporary methods of genetic analysis based on recombinant DNA technology confer an essentially unlimited scope for genetic manipulation; in principle, any viral gene of interest can be mutated, and the precise nature of the mutation can be predetermined by the investigator. Much of the large body of information about viruses and their reproduction that we now possess can be attributed to the power of these methods.