Viruses infect numerous microorganisms including, predominantly, Bacteria (bacteriophages or phages) but also Archaea, Protists, and Fungi. They are the most abundant and ubiquitous biological entities on Earth and are important drivers of ecosystem functioning. Little is known, however, about the vast majority of these viruses of microorganisms, or VoMs. Modern techniques such as metagenomics have enabled the discovery and description of more presumptive VoMs than ever before, but also have exposed gaps in our understanding of VoM ecology. Exploring the ecology of these viruses – which is how they interact with host organisms, the abiotic environment, larger organisms, and even other viruses across a variety of environments and conditions – is the next frontier. Integration of a growing molecular understanding of VoMs with ecological studies will expand our knowledge of ecosystem dynamics. Ecology can be studied at multiple levels including individual organisms, populations, communities, whole ecosystems, and the entire biosphere. Ecology additionally can consider normal, equilibrium conditions or instead perturbations. Perturbations are of particular interest because measuring the effect of disturbances on VoM-associated communities provides important windows into how VoMs contribute to ecosystem dynamics. These disturbances in turn can be studied through in vitro, in vivo, and in situ experimentation, measuring responses by VoM-associated communities to changes in nutrient availability, stress, physical disruption, seasonality, etc., and could apply to studies at all ecological levels. These are considered here across diverse systems and environments.

Viral Ecology defines and explains the ecology of viruses by examining their interactions with their hosting species, including the types of transmission cycles that have evolved, encompassing principal and alternate hosts, vehicles, and vectors. It examines virology from an organismal biology approach, focusing on the concept that viral infections represent areas of overlap in the ecology of viruses, their hosts, and their vectors. The relationship between viruses and their hosting species The concept that viral interactions with their hosts represents a highly evolved aspect of organismal biology The types of transmission cycles which exist for viruses, including their hosts, vectors, and vehicles The concept that viral infections represent areas of overlap in the ecology of the viruses, their hosts, and their vectors

Viruses of microorganisms (VoMs) are the world's most abundant viruses. There are viruses for every known microbe and VoMs are usually described in terms of their hosts as algal viruses, archaeal viruses, bacteriophages, virophages, fungal viruses and protozoan viruses. A key feature of infection by VoMs is that they often kill the host. This allows VoMs to play a key role in modifying microbial communities and in nutrient cycling in various environments. When the host is itself a pathogen then VoMs may be exploited to create novel antimicrobial strategies. In fact phage therapy for a variety of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens is currently at the clinical trial stage. When they don't kill the host, VoMs can still play important roles in the ecology and evolution of their hosts via various forms of virus-mediated horizontal gene transfer. Important in nature, these processes have also been used in the laboratory in genetic engineering techniques. In this multi-authored volume, international experts review the genomics, ecology, comparative biology and biotechnological applications of these fascinating viruses. Chapters have extensive reference sections that should encourage readers to pursue each subject in greater detail. This unique reference volume is a must-read for everyone working with VoMs, from the PhD student to the experienced scientist, in academia, the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries and working in clinical environments.

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria; as such, they have many potential uses for promoting health and combating disease. This book covers the many facets of phage-bacterial-human interaction in three sections: the role and impact of phages on natural bacterial communities, the potential to develop phage-based therapeutics and other aspects in which phages can be used to combat disease, including bacterial detection, bacterial epidemiology, the tracing of fecal contamination of water and decontamination of foods.

People's desire to understand the environments in which they live is a natural one. People spend most of their time in spaces and structures designed, built, and managed by humans, and it is estimated that people in developed countries now spend 90 percent of their lives indoors. As people move from homes to workplaces, traveling in cars and on transit systems, microorganisms are continually with and around them. The human-associated microbes that are shed, along with the human behaviors that affect their transport and removal, make significant contributions to the diversity of the indoor microbiome. The characteristics of "healthy" indoor environments cannot yet be defined, nor do microbial, clinical, and building researchers yet understand how to modify features of indoor environmentsâ€"such as building ventilation systems and the chemistry of building materialsâ€"in ways that would have predictable impacts on microbial communities to promote health and prevent disease. The factors that affect the environments within buildings, the ways in which building characteristics influence the composition and function of indoor microbial communities, and the ways in which these microbial communities relate to human health and well-being are extraordinarily complex and can be explored only as a dynamic, interconnected ecosystem by engaging the fields of microbial biology and ecology, chemistry, building science, and human physiology. This report reviews what is known about the intersection of these disciplines, and how new tools may facilitate advances in understanding the ecosystem of built environments, indoor microbiomes, and effects on human health and well-being. It offers a research agenda to generate the information needed so that stakeholders with an interest in understanding the impacts of built environments will be able to make more informed decisions.

Viruses and Environment contains the proceedings of the Third International Conference on Comparative Virology, held at Mont Gabriel, Quebec, Canada on May 1977. The primary focus of the conference is the ecology of viruses, that is, the interrelationships between organisms and their environment. Organized into seven parts with a total of 33 chapters, this book centers on the impact of viruses on the environment; the persistent virus infections of man, vertebrate and invertebrate animals, and plants; and the smallest disease agents, the viroids. In particular, this book describes the reservoirs of viruses, such as arthropod vectors, water, cultivated plants, and wild animals; safety considerations concerning the use of live virus vaccines; and the viral insecticides. The use of bacterial viruses in genetic engineering is also addressed. This treatise will be valuable to research workers in medical and biomedical fields; biological control; and animal and plant quarantine. It will also benefit the university teachers and graduate students.

Viral respiratory tract infections are important and common causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In the past two decades, several novel viral respiratory infections have emerged with epidemic potential that threaten global health security. This Monograph aims to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of severe acute respiratory syndrome, Middle East respiratory syndrome and other viral respiratory infections, including seasonal influenza, avian influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and human rhinovirus, through six chapters written by authoritative experts from around the globe.