Re:High genetic barrier to SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal neutralizin...
by IX-103 on Monday September 20, 2021 @08:35PM
(#28600767)
I'd say it's misleading to say viruses reproduce asexually. Viruses are produced by infected cells.
If the cell is infected by multiple viruses, sometimes there's crossover where the instructions for one get mixed with the instructions for another. So, yes, multiple mutations can end up being combined of they infect a single individual.
It actually doesn't even have to be the same virus. This is how many zoonotic diseases develop -- take a piece of a virus that can attack humans and combine it with a different virus that doesn't attack humans.
If the cell is infected by multiple viruses, sometimes there's crossover where the instructions for one get mixed with the instructions for another. So, yes, multiple mutations can end up being combined of they infect a single individual.
It actually doesn't even have to be the same virus. This is how many zoonotic diseases develop -- take a piece of a virus that can attack humans and combine it with a different virus that doesn't attack humans.