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Doesn't this support the theory that viruses are rogue cellular messengers that left their hosts and started a genealogy on their own
by atleastoptimal 3y ago
Doesn't this support the theory that viruses are rogue cellular messengers that left their hosts and started a genealogy on their own
- adrian_b 3y agoIt is possible that some viruses have appeared in this way, though not very likely. A large part of the viruses (if not all) appears to have an ancestor that was significantly further in the past than the common ancestor of all present cellular life forms, so they are much more distantly related to us than any bacteria. While a part of the viral genomes has this distinct origin, many viruses have combined with various pieces of nucleic acids extracted from their hosts, so these can be considered hybrids that include fragments of DNA or RNA of various origins, possibly even human DNA for some.