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 unifies general concepts of plant and animal virus evolution and covers a broad range of topics related to theoretical and experimental aspects of virus population dynamics and viral fitness. Timely topics such as viral mechanisms to cope with antiviral agents, the adaptability of the virus to new hosts, emergence of new viral phenotypes, and the connections between short- and long-term virus evolution are included. By comparing plant and animal viruses, universal mechanisms responsible for fitness variations, viral emergence and disease mechanisms are explored. Although emphasis is put on specific plant and human viral pathogens, relevant similarities and differences to other viruses are highlighted. Additionally, readers will learn more about the adaptability of coronaviruses, including the recently emerged SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic. The book is aimed at students and scientists interested in basic and applied aspects of plant and animal virus population dynamics and evolution.

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]

The concept of fitness has long been a topic of intense debate among evolutionary biologists and their critics, with its definition and explanatory power coming under attack. In this book, Richard Michod offers a fresh, dynamical interpretation of evolution and fitness concepts. He argues that evolution has no enduring products; what matters is the process of genetic change. Whereas many biologists have focused on competition and aggression as determining factors in survival, Michod, by concentrating on the emergence of individuality at new and more complex levels, finds that cooperation plays even a greater role. Michod first considers the principles behind the hierarchically nested levels of organization that constitute life: genes, chromosomes, genomes, cells, multicellular organisms, and societies. By examining the evolutionary transitions from the molecular level up to the whole organism, the author explains how cooperation and conflict in a multilevel setting leads to new levels of fitness. He builds a model of fitness drawing on recent developments in ecology and multilevel selection theory and on new explanations of the origin of life. Michod concludes with a discussion of the philosophical implications of his theory of fitness, a theory that addresses the most fundamental and unique concept in all of biology.

Using different viral models, molecular pathways regulated by viral genes and their role in the pathogenesis of infection are analyzed. The book also offers an update of known signaling pathways in apoptosis and their role in normal and infected cells. Special emphasis is given to molecular pathways underlying viral transformation and oncogenesis and how research in this area is opening opportunities in cancer therapy.

Virus as Composition, Complexity, Quasispecies, Dynamics, and Biological Implications, Second Edition, explains the fundamental concepts surrounding viruses as complex populations during replication in infected hosts. Fundamental phenomena in virus behavior, such as adaptation to changing environments, capacity to produce disease, and the probability to be transmitted or respond to treatment all depend on virus population numbers. Concepts such as quasispecies dynamics, mutations rates, viral fitness, the effect of bottleneck events, population numbers in virus transmission and disease emergence, and new antiviral strategies are included. The book's main concepts are framed by recent observations on general virus diversity derived from metagenomic studies and current views on the origin and role of viruses in the evolution of the biosphere. - Features current views on key steps in the origin of life and origins of viruses - Includes examples relating ancestral features of viruses with their current adaptive capacity - Explains complex phenomena in an organized and coherent fashion that is easy to comprehend and enjoyable to read - Considers quasispecies as a framework to understand virus adaptability and disease processes

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.