In calling this series Molecular Plant Virology, I had in mind aspects of plant virology of interest to biochemists, molecular geneticists, biophysicists, genetic engineers, or, collectively,molecular biologists. At the same time, the intention was to provide up-to-date reviews, by expert contributors, on current research topics in plant virology of interest and referential use to virologists and plant biologists. The selected topics are pitched mainly at a research level, but with sufficient introduction and cross-referencing to enable graduate students to enter this fascinating field and, hopefully, not get lost.

A bibliography containing 181 citations in English that have been derived from the National Agricultural Library's AGRICOLA database. Entries include books, journal and audiovisuals. Citations include, where applicable: title, author, publisher, NAL call number, place and date of publication, volume and issue number, no. of pages, media format length, and description. Many entries include abstracts. Indexed by author and subject.

The time seems ripe for a critical compendium of that segment of the biological universe we call viruses. Virology, as a science, having passed only recently through its descriptive phase of naming and num bering, has probably reached that stage at which relatively few new truly new-viruses will be discovered. Triggered by the intellectual probes and techniques of molecular biology, genetics, biochemical cytology, and high resolution microscopy and spectroscopy, the field has experienced a genuine information explosion. Few serious attempts have been made to chronicle these events. This comprehensive series, which will comprise some 6000 pages in a total of about 22 volumes, represents a commitment by a large group of active investigators to analyze, digest, and expostulate on the great mass of data relating to viruses, much of which is now amorphous and disjointed, and scattered throughout a wide literature. In this way, we hope to place the entire field in perspective, and to develop an invalu able reference and sourcebook for researchers and students at all levels. This series is designed as a continuum that can be entered anywhere, but which also provides a logical progression of developing facts and integrated concepts.