Observing viruses infecting cells is essential for making plans to defeat them, but the two main methods for viewing viral DNA in host cells have limitations.
Genetically engineering the virus to contain sequences that can be bound by fluorescent proteins may interfere with the structure and behavior of the viral DNA, says Urs Greber, a virologist at the University of Zurich. And with the other popular technique, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), “one is never sure if every [viral] DNA in the cell is equally accessible” for labeling, he says, adding that the harsh denaturing and permeabilizing conditions required for FISH may also destroy or remove viral DNA.
Read more:
Visualizing Viruses
Source: The Scientist Magazine