This book provides a comprehensive look at the field of plant virus evolution. It is the first book ever published on the topic. Individual chapters, written by experts in the field, cover plant virus ecology, emerging viruses, plant viruses that integrate into the host genome, population biology, evolutionary mechanisms and appropriate methods for analysis. It covers RNA viruses, DNA viruses, pararetroviruses and viroids, and presents a number of thought-provoking ideas.

This edited book elucidates the evolution of plant virus, genomic structure, diversity, plant-virus interaction, subcellular movement etc. The book reviews the biological machineries which allow the emergence of virus populations adapted by plant. The main objective of this book is the demonstration of a clear synergistic effect of plant viruses, an effect that was unexpectedly as important as applied alone. Ornamental plants are very popular and economically important worldwide. The international market of ornamentals is constantly expanding. Viruses and viroids can significantly reduce both decorative value and quality of propagated material of ornamentals. Due to the wide range of ornamental plant species and cultivars and their wide geographical distribution, the diversity of viruses that infect them is also high. The new emerging viruses are the causal agent for the economic loss of many important ornamental plants. Therefore, this book also adds value to current knowledge of virus stress response in ornamental plants and will provide the groundwork necessary for building future strategies for product enhancement. This book is of interest to teachers, researchers, capacity builders and policymakers. It can serve as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of virology, agriculture and plant sciences.

New viral diseases are emerging continuously. Viruses adapt to new environments at astounding rates. Genetic variability of viruses jeopardizes vaccine efficacy. For many viruses mutants resistant to antiviral agents or host immune responses arise readily, for example, with HIV and influenza. These variations are all of utmost importance for human and animal health as they have prevented us from controlling these epidemic pathogens. This book focuses on the mechanisms that viruses use to evolve, survive and cause disease in their hosts. Covering human, animal, plant and bacterial viruses, it provides both the basic foundations for the evolutionary dynamics of viruses and specific examples of emerging diseases. NEW - methods to establish relationships among viruses and the mechanisms that affect virus evolution UNIQUE - combines theoretical concepts in evolution with detailed analyses of the evolution of important virus groups SPECIFIC - Bacterial, plant, animal and human viruses are compared regarding their interation with their hosts

This book provides a comprehensive look at the field of plant virus evolution. It is the first book ever published on the topic. Individual chapters, written by experts in the field, cover plant virus ecology, emerging viruses, plant viruses that integrate into the host genome, population biology, evolutionary mechanisms and appropriate methods for analysis. It covers RNA viruses, DNA viruses, pararetroviruses and viroids, and presents a number of thought-provoking ideas.

This book focuses on the evolution of plant viruses, their molecular classification, epidemics and management, covering topics relating to evolutionary mechanisms, viral ecology and emergence, appropriate analysis methods, and the role of evolution in taxonomy. The currently emerging virus species are increasingly becoming a threat to our way of life, both economically and physically. Plant viruses are particularly significant as they affect our food supply and are capable of rapidly spreading to new plant species. In basic research, plant viruses have become useful models to analyze the molecular biology of plant gene regulation and cell-cell communication. The small size of DNA genome of viruses possesses minimal coding capacity and replicates in the host cell nucleus with the help of host plant cellular machinery. Thus, studying virus cellular processes provides a good basis for explaining DNA replication, transcription, mRNA processing, protein expression and gene silencing in plants. A better understanding of these cellular processes will help us design antiviral strategies for plants. The book provides in-depth information on plant virus gene interactions with hosts, localization and expression and the latest advances in our understanding of plant virus evolution, their responses and crop improvement. Combining characterization of plant viruses and disease management and presenting them together makes it easy to compare all aspects of resistance, tolerance and management strategies. As such, it is a useful resource for molecular biologists and plant virologists alike.

Plant viruses cause many of the most important diseases threatening crops worldwide. Over the last quarter of a century, an increasing number of plant viruses have emerged in various parts of the world, especially in the tropics and subtropics. As is generally observed for plant viruses, most of the emerging viruses are transmitted horizontally by biological vectors, mainly insects. Reverse genetics using infectious clones--available for many plant viruses--has been used for identification of viral determinants involved in virus-host and virus-vector interactions. Although many studies have identified a number of factors involved in disease development and transmission, the precise mechanisms are unknown for most of the virus-plant-vector combinations. In most cases, the diverse outcomes resulting from virus-virus interactions are poorly understood. Although significant advances have been made towards understand the mechanisms involved in plant resistance to viruses, we are far from being able to apply this knowledge to protect cultivated plants from the all viral threats.The aim of this Special Issue was to provide a platform for researchers interested in plant virology to share their recent results. To achieve this, we invited the plant virology community to submit research articles, short communications and reviews related to the various aspects of plant virology: ecology, virus-plant host interactions, virus-vector interactions, virus-virus interactions, and control strategies. This issue contains some of the best current research in plant virology.

The field of virus evolution has developed during the past three decades, from one considered by many to be esoteric and unimportant for human and agricultural health, to a major driver of our thinking about infectious diseases of plants and animals. The field has been spurred on during the past 30 years by emerging viral diseases such as HIV/AIDS, hantaviruses, SARS, MERS, and Ebola, along with discoveries of the quasispecies nature and potential for rapid evolution and diversification of RNA virus populations. Over time, the focus of research has expanded and developed to encompass a diverse mixture of approaches, from highly theoretical and mechanistic studies of the basic evolutionary mechanisms to detailed research on the molecular host range, as well as virulence changes responsible for emerging viral diseases. This timely book addresses a wide range of current questions and research approaches at the forefront of the field and highlights recent advances in the understanding of the history and mechanisms of virus evolution. Wherever possible, the book's contributors have integrated information from the study of plant, animal, and bacterial viruses. Every effort has been made to unify findings and to highlight the diversity in patterns and modes of virus evolution between systems in order to aid comparative analysis. The book will be essential reading for everyone working on virus evolution and emerging viral diseases. It is also recommended for anyone working in the area of viral pathogenesis. [Subject: Microbiology, Virology, Life Science]