On 2016 Jul 21, Donald Forsdyke commented:

THEORY-DRIVEN RESEARCH

The results of Enard et al. Enard D, 2016 "draw a broader picture where adaptation against viruses involves not only the specialized antiviral response, but also the entire population of host proteins." Indeed, Petrov has remarked: "Organisms have been living with viruses for billions of years" so on theoretical grounds alone "those interactions have affected every part of the cell."

Given recent disparagement of theoretical work Lander ES, 2016, it is nice to see results that are consistent with theory (e.g. Trends Immunol (2002) 23:575-579; Paper with Endnotes). Enard et al. now "conservatively estimate" that "viruses have driven close to 30% of all adaptive amino acid changes in the part of the human proteome conserved within mammals." Such "virus interacting proteins" vastly exceed the known proteins that regularly engage in immune responses to viruses (e.g. protein kinase R).

This is consistent with the 2002 postulate of the existence of intracellular protein "immune receptors" Forsdyke DR, 2002. Thus, over evolutionary time a protein that primarily evolved for a distinct function, but also happened to cross-react with some virus component, would in addition be selected by virtue of the latter function.

On 2016 Jul 21, Donald Forsdyke commented:

THEORY-DRIVEN RESEARCH

The results of Enard et al. Enard D, 2016 "draw a broader picture where adaptation against viruses involves not only the specialized antiviral response, but also the entire population of host proteins." Indeed, Petrov has remarked: "Organisms have been living with viruses for billions of years" so on theoretical grounds alone "those interactions have affected every part of the cell."

Given recent disparagement of theoretical work Lander ES, 2016, it is nice to see results that are consistent with theory (e.g. Trends Immunol (2002) 23:575-579; Paper with Endnotes). Enard et al. now "conservatively estimate" that "viruses have driven close to 30% of all adaptive amino acid changes in the part of the human proteome conserved within mammals." Such "virus interacting proteins" vastly exceed the known proteins that regularly engage in immune responses to viruses (e.g. protein kinase R).

This is consistent with the 2002 postulate of the existence of intracellular protein "immune receptors" Forsdyke DR, 2002. Thus, over evolutionary time a protein that primarily evolved for a distinct function, but also happened to cross-react with some virus component, would in addition be selected by virtue of the latter function.