UVic Researchers Map Monkeypox Genome

Two UVic microbiologists are on the leading edge of research seeking to understand monkeypox, the latest disease scare to hit North America. Working in conjunction with St. Louis University in Missouri, Drs. Rachel Roper and Chris Upton are sequencing and analysing by computer the genome of two strains of the monkeypox virus. Monkeypox is a serious disease similar to smallpox that can be transmitted to humans through direct contact with wild animals. Until now, it’s been restricted to parts of Africa, but a recent outbreak in the U.S. mid-West has been linked to Gambian pouched rats imported by an exotic pet dealer. Roper and Upton are both specialists in poxviruses and have been designated by the U.S. National Institutes of Health as the official resource for pox bioinformatics. They currently have 27 poxvirus genomes described in their bioinformatics database (accessible on the Web at www.poxvirus.org) from species as diverse as birds, cows, rabbits, sheep, camels, and insects. Poxviruses, which are large, elliptical viruses with very big genomes, a lot of proteins and complex life cycles, are found worldwide, says Roper. “There’s even a crocodilepox and a pox-like virus that infects algae.”

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