Genetic Diversity of RNA Viruses
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 m
- PDF / 30,630,450 Bytes
- 230 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 101 Downloads / 195 Views
Editors R. W. Compans, Birmingham/Alabama· M. Cooper, Birmingham/Alabama· H. Koprowski, Philadelphia I. McConnell, Edinburgh· F. Melchers, Basel V. Nussenzweig, New York· M. Oldstone, La Jolla/California· S. Olsnes, Oslo· M. Potter, Bethesda/Maryland· H. Saedler, Cologne· P. K. Vogt, Los Angeles· H. Wagner, Munich· I. Wilson, La Jolla/California
Genetic Diversity of RNA Viruses Edited by J. J. Holland
With 34 Figures and 14 Tables
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg NewYork London Paris Tokyo Hong Kong Barcelona Budapest
JOHN J. HOLLAND,
PhD.
Professor of Biology and Molecular Genetics Department of Biology, C-016 University of California San Diego La Jolla, CA 92093 USA
e-ISBN-13:978-3-642-77011-1 ISBN-13:978-3-642-77013-5 001: 10.1007/978-3-642-77011-1 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved. whether the whole or part of the material is concerned. specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9,1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer-Verlag. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law.
©
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1992 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition
1992
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 15-12910 The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Product liability: The publishers cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information about dosage and application contained in this book. In every individual case the user must check such information by consulting the relevant literature. Typesetting: Thomson Press (India) Ltd, New Delhi; 23/3020-5 4 3 2 1 0 - Printed on acid-free paper.
Preface
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 B virus) which replicate their DNA genomes via RNA transcripts 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) extremely rapid evolution of RNA viruses, so that they can evolve over a million times more q
