Genetic Diversity of RNA Viruses

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-IX

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2. RNA Virus Populations as Quasispecies

   • J. J. Holland, J. C. De La Torre, D. A. Steinhauer

   Pages 1-20

3. Genetic Recombination in RNA Viruses

   • M. M. C. Lai

   Pages 21-32

4. Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Populations Are Quasispecies

   • E. Domingo, C. Escarmis, M. A. Martinez, E. Martinez-Salas, M. G. Mateu

   Pages 33-47

5. Genetic Diversity and Rapid Evolution of Poliovirus in Human Hosts

   • L. Kinnunen, T. Pöyry, T. Hovi

   Pages 49-61

6. Mutations and A/I Hypermutations in Measles Virus Persistent Infections

   • R. Cattaneo, M. A. Billeter

   Pages 63-74

7. Evolutionary Processes in Influenza Viruses: Divergence, Rapid Evolution, and Stasis

   • O. T. Gorman, W. J. Bean, R. G. Webster

   Pages 75-97

8. Genetic Diversity and Slow Rates of Evolution in New World Alphaviruses

   • S. C. Weaver, R. Rico-Hesse, T. W. Scott

   Pages 99-117

9. Emergence and Transmission of Influenza A Viruses Resistant to Amantadine and Rimantadine

   • F. G. Hayden, A. J. Hay

   Pages 119-130

10. Selection of Zidovudine-Resistant Variants of Human Immunodeficiency Virus by Therapy

    • D. D. Richman

    Pages 131-142

11. Genetic Diversity and Evolution of Retroviruses

    • J. M. Coffin

    Pages 143-164

12. Retroviral Reverse Transcriptases: Error Frequencies and Mutagenesis

    • K. J. Williams, L. A. Loeb

    Pages 165-180

13. Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Quasispecies In Vivo and Ex Vivo

    • S. Wain-Hobson

    Pages 181-193

14. Tracing the Origin of Retroviruses

    • R. F. Doolittle, D.-F. Feng

    Pages 195-211

15. Replication and Evolution of Viroid-Like Pathogens

    • H. D. Robertson

    Pages 213-219

16. Back Matter

    Pages 221-228

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Many RNA viruses have been known for decades to be genetically and biologically quite variable. Some well-known examples are influenza viruses, foot and mouth disease viruses, and Newcastle disease virus. During the past decade, it has become clear that most, it not all. , RNA viruses (riboviruses and retroviruses) are much more mutable than was recognized previously, and that this great mutability generates extremely complex populations consisting of indeterminate mixtures of related variants (Le. , "mutant swarms" or "quasispecies" populations). This is also true of DNA viruses (such as hepatitis DNA genomes via RNA transcripts B virus) which replicate their that are reverse-transcribed back to DNA. This hypermutability of RNA replicons provides great biological adaptability for RNA virus genomes. It also allows (but does not necessitate) RNA viruses, so that they can extremely rapid evolution of evolve over a million times more quickly than their eukaryotic DNA-based hosts. The genetics of RNA replicons is so unusual (and often counterintuitive) that it has many important biological conse­ quences which are neither readily apparent nor widely under­ stood. Failure to understand the distinctive aspects of RNA genetics frequently generates confusion and controversy and can adversely impact vaccine and antiviral drug programs and other applications of medical virology. The 14 chapters in this volume describe advances in a number of significant areas of RNA virus genetics and evolution.

• AIDS
• Antigen
• Evolution
• Mutation
• RNA-Viren
• Riboviruses
• Virologie
• Viruses
• antiviral drug resistance
• retroviruses
• virology

• Department of Biology, C-016, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA

  John J. Holland

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