A Tianzhou spacecraft in the 7,000-kilometer orbit of Mars slowly braked nearby, and then maneuvered to change orbit toward the Phobos satellite city in the 6,000-kilometer orbit.
Du Pengxin, a former biochemical scientist at the military's Chengcheng base, is the one who leads the team to support Mars this time. He has been engaged in biochemical viruses, X genes, and biochemical modification of humans.
Regarding the research on the fluorescent virus, the Institute of Life Sciences finally decided to send him here.
On the one hand, Du Pengxin has considerable attainments in genes and viruses; on the other hand, he has experience in organizing large-scale biochemical research.
After arriving at the Phobos satellite city, Du Pengxin entered the dormant cabin and activated the stand-in robot stored at the Mars outpost.
Huang Fan and Jiang Zhiren, who had spent almost half a month studying without sleep or food, brought Du Pengxin to the biochemical experimental cabin.
"This is the Yinghuo virus"
Huang Fan introduced: "This is the original strain of the Yinghuo virus, and the one here is the mutated strain."
Looking at the more than 30 mutated strains in the virus survival chamber, Du Pengxin looked slightly serious: "So many mutated strains."
"There are 37 species in total. These are all symbiotic or parasitic strains. In the freezing chamber next door, there are 82 highly virulent strains." Huang Fan reported some facts truthfully.
Upon hearing so many mutant strains, Du Pengxin gradually became serious: "The mutation speed of the Yinghuo virus is too abnormal. Where did you collect the original strain sample?"
Huang Fan drew his hand in the air in front of him, and a virtual projection map appeared in mid-air. This was a topographic map around the Greek Basin.
"The red area above is the area where the fluorescent virus was found."
On the topographic map around the Greek Basin, the red area occupies nearly one-tenth.
There is also some basic information on the Fluorescent Virus. The original strain is 420 to 430 nanometers long and 60 to 65 nanometers wide. It is long and strip-shaped. It prefers shade and deep underground. It can be spread through the air (dust raised during excavation). It is common in underground areas.
In semi-humid strata at 20 to 50 meters.
"When you were digging, there was no leakage, right?"
Huang Fan shook his head: "Don't worry, our collection and management are all sterilized by nano-robots to ensure that the virus will not leak out of the ground."
"That's good."
A group of researchers who came to support immediately began their research work. Du Pengxin expressed his affirmation of Huang Fan and Jiang Zhiren's research.
The root of the Yinghuo virus is its terrifying mutation speed. Once it loses its mutation characteristics, the Yinghuo virus is just an ordinary virus.
…
Rows of translucent culture media contain countless deadly fluorescent viruses.
It only takes one strain of the virus to be thrown into Blue Star to cause an ecological extinction disaster in a short period of time. It can mutate within a few hours after being stimulated. No vaccine is of any use.
Unlike Huang Fan and Huang Fan, who were wearing full-body biochemical protective suits, Du Pengxin and others who came here using stand-in robots did not need protective suits. They only needed to carry out comprehensive disinfection when entering and leaving.
"After knocking out the core fragment, these viruses have completely lost their mutation characteristics. They are such weird viruses." Du Pengxin said while observing the images.
In the virus culture medium, these "castrated" fluorescent viruses can be clearly observed through scanning with an atomic imaging scanner.
Although replication and reproduction can be carried out, the mutation efficiency has dropped by thousands of times. Under stimulus-induced mutation, the mutation efficiency is less than one ten thousandth of the previous one, which is no different from ordinary viruses.
On the other side, those fluorescent viruses that have not been "castrated" can mutate even if one-third of their gene segments are destroyed, as long as the base core segment still exists.
Huang Fan, who was observing the genetic sequences of these viruses, suddenly discovered a feature.
As long as deoxyribonucleotide No. 67 in the core fragment is successfully combined with the human gene chain, that is, the deoxyribonucleotide does not change, the virus will form a symbiotic relationship with human cells.
He quickly recorded this discovery, and based on the discovery, he found deoxyribonucleotide No. 32 in the core fragment, which determines the parasitic relationship of the virus; deoxyribonucleotide No. 55, determines the infection preference of the virus...
With the assistance of supercomputing, Huang Fan preliminarily determined the functions of 112 deoxyribonucleotides in the base core fragment.
…
In fact, there are big differences between the DNA of Fluorovirus and Blue Star.
The deoxyribonucleotide molecule of Blue Star is composed of three molecules: a nitrogenous base molecule, a deoxyribose molecule, and a phosphoric acid molecule.
Deoxynucleotides are the basic structural and functional units of genes. The part that determines the diversity of organisms is the four bases in deoxynucleotides.
They are: adenine (abbreviated as A), thymine (abbreviated as T), cytosine (abbreviated as C) and guanine (abbreviated as G).
The order in which these four bases are arranged determines biological diversity.
But the four bases possessed by the Fluorovirus, or the Martian microorganisms, are different from those of the Blue Star organisms.
Huang Fan, Du Pengxin and others had already anticipated this situation, because the bases and even the elements of the X gene were completely different from those of Blue Star organisms.
Convergent evolution under the rules of the same universe can only determine the general direction of organisms, but cannot determine the details of organisms. This is the similarity under convergent evolution.
The four bases of Martian microorganisms are: adenine (L), janidine (J), cytosine (Y), and xanthine (H).
After identifying these bases and deoxyribonucleotides, Huang Fan and others, who had been busy for more than a week, finally launched the first genetic modification experiment.
With the assistance of an atomic imaging scanner and nanorobots, Huang Fan replaced the gamma purine of deoxyribonucleotide No. 15 in the base core fragment with an adenine-like one.
When micro-radiation stimulation is activated, the modified virus is still mutating at a high speed.
"Naoto, how is the situation over there?"
"Failed." Jiang Zhiren shook his head and replied.
Du Pengxin, who put down the nanorobot control sensor, breathed a sigh of relief: "I seem to have succeeded."
"Oh" Huang Fan leaned over.
Deoxyribonucleotide No. 15 of the base core fragment is the gene sequence responsible for virus replication. Huang Fan and others plan to control the replication of the virus by modifying the bases of the deoxyribonucleotide.
The experiment continued. After figuring out the function of the gene sequence, they gradually confirmed through trial and error the turning on (dominant), turning off (recessive), and stress turning on (passive-semi-recessive) of each gene of the virus.
, association (matching the bases of other gene sequences).
These experimental data and results have enabled them to initially control the fluorescent virus, laying a solid foundation for their further in-depth research.
Of course, now they have only completed the base core fragment, which only accounts for about one-twentieth of the fluorescent virus gene sequence.
They need to further understand all the genetic sequences of the original strain of the fluorescent virus so that they can carry out in-depth genetic modification.
Randomly modifying genes without in-depth understanding is not conducting scientific research, but committing suicide.
If after modification, the virus becomes more terrifying, it would be like shooting yourself in the foot.
Human beings need to believe in science and more importantly, they need to revere science instead of being blindly arrogant.