Researchers have identified key genes behind the infectivity of a virus that causes hand, foot, and mouth disease. Humans are the only known mammalian host, but in 2014, strains were bred that were capable of infecting mice and primate cell lines. These strains had mutant versions of the virus coat proteins. In this study, the same research group, led by Kaw Bing Chua and Vincent Chow at the National University of Singapore, introduced the mutations into the non-infectious strain individually and in combinations.