Vaccinia virus MacGyvers a makeshift tool to repair its DNA, exposing a vulnerability that could be targeted

Instead of relying on the cell's repair mechanisms, the vaccinia virus MacGyvers a tool for DNA repair from one that it already uses to copy DNA, reports a team of researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in the Journal of Virology. Blocking that tool—an enzyme known as polymerase—at once disrupts the virus's ability to copy and to repair DNA, exposing an Achilles' heel that could be targeted with a therapeutic.

source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-vaccinia-virus-macgyvers-makeshift-tool.html