How the body's internal clock controls herpes and flu virus infections within individual cells

Host infection time significantly influences virus progression in live mice and individual cells.

• Circadian rhythms (∼24 h cycles) in host physiology are not constant and affect viral replication.
• Herpes and influenza A virus infections increase when the key clock gene Bmal1 is disrupted.
• Processes such as intracellular trafficking, protein synthesis, and chromatin assembly are regulated by circadian rhythms and contribute to virus infection.
• Herpesviruses specifically target components of the molecular circadian clock.
• Viral exploitation of the host's circadian clock suggests it may serve as a new target for controlling viral replication.

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