Amphotropism
Ability of a pathogen/parasite to infect multiple species
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amphotropism or amphotropic indicates that a pathogen or parasite like a virus or a bacterium has a wide host range and can infect more than one species or cell culture line. The range is often of a mammalian spread. Amphotropism can be most effectively described in comparison to ecotropic and pantropic pathogens.
Distinctions and Functionality
Amphotropic pathogens are able to affect a relatively wide range of species by having their envelope glycoproteins attack receptors that, due to evolutionary conservation, are structurally similar across species.[1] By exploiting these similarities they are able to extend their range beyond typical ecotropic pathogens, which are only able to identify and attack a specific receptor. However, their range is not as wide as pantropic pathogens, which aren’t reliant on structural similarities to bind.[2]
Amphotropic Pathogen Examples
See also
- Tropism, a list of tropisms
- Ecotropism, indicating a narrow host range
