Every individual responds differently to infection by the same type of virus. This is partly due to the tricks viruses use to dodge the host’s immune system. Viruses use transposable elements from the viral genome to integrate into the host genome and the enzyme, Dicer plays a key role in this process. Integration of transposable elements occurs with each successive generation. Each of us carries that legacy in our genomes. Sometimes the integration process goes awry and can trigger autoimmune diseases. For more information on applications of Illumina technology in the field of Microbial Genomics, please visit us at Illumina: Microbial Genomics http://www.illumina.com/applications/microbiology.ilmn. Products: Genome AnalyzerIIx: http://support.illumina.com/sequencing/sequencing_instruments/genome_analyzer_iix.html HiSeq: http://systems.illumina.com/systems/hiseq_2500_1500.ilmn Publication Links: PMID: 24747712 | Volkman H.E., et al. (2014) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24747712 PMID: 24814348 | White E., et al. (2014) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24814348 Reviews: Virus Detection and Research http://www.illumina.com/documents/products/research_reviews/viral_detection_research_review.pdf, Metagenomics 2nd Edition http://www.illumina.com/documents/products/research_reviews/metagenomics_research_review.pdf The Science Mondays (SciMon) series is brought to you by Illumina http://www.illumina.com/ Illumina hosts Swati Kadam, Ph.D., Scientific Liaison, Scientific Affairs and Jacques Retief, Associate Director Scientific Affairs deliver 7 minutes of scientific enlightenment on the latest discoveries.