Six strains of XMRV so far!

Sequence variations

I'm not a virologist, but from what I've learned, this is potentially a significant issue and is probably dependent upon the testing methodology used.

Are the minor sequence variations that have been observed in the coding of XMRV , significant enough to define them as different strains of the virus ? I don't know.

The question is whether these sequence variations are sufficient to make a difference to researchers' ability to detect it, given the various different methods available to them.

We don't yet know the answer, but you might suspect that PCR is more susceptible to sequence variation problems than say, the antibody test or the immunohisto-chemical cell culture / staining methodology, which Dr. Ila Singh advocates as being the most reliable at present.

I think that this is why WPI have consistently stressed the importance of using all of the available methodologies when testing for the presence of the virus, before concluding that a patient is probably XMRV-ve and hence the ongoing search for more effective assays.

TGOP :Retro smile:

Thanks a lot for your answer. I think this would be an interesting question for Prof Racaniello.

Not sure, but I think if they are increasing it's sensitivity then it will likely pick up more strains, therefore making it more accurate. Just guessing, but that is my take on things. Hopefully we will learn more soon!