Biology of Negative Strand RNA Viruses: The Power of Reverse Genetics


Book Description

Negative-strand RNA viruses, so named because of the polarity of their genomic RNA to mRNA, include important human and non-human pathogens. This volume covers major advances in reverse genetics techniques over the past decade, state-of-the-art basic science and the clinical implications of experimental findings. This should rekindle interest in negative-strand RNA viruses among readers, including those in other disciplines, leading to further progress in understanding these important viruses and in developing effective measures of control.




Viruses and Human Disease


Book Description

Completely revised and updated, the new edition of this groundbreaking text integrates basic virology with pathophysiological conditions to examine the connection between virology and human disease. Most virology textbooks focus on the molecular biology involved without adequate reference to physiology. This text focuses on viruses that infect humans, domestic animals and vertebrates and is based on extensive course notes from James Strauss' virology class at the California Institute of Technology taught for over 30 years. Expertly depicting in color the molecular structure and replication of each virus, it provides an excellent overview for students and professionals interested in viruses as agents of human disease. - Includes over 30% new material - virtually all of the figures and tables have been redrawn to include the latest information and the text has been extensively rewritten to include the most up-to-date information - Includes a new chapter on emerging and reemerging viral diseases such as avian flu, SARS, the spread of West Nile virus across America, and the continuing spread of Nipah virus in Southeast Asia - Further reading sections at the end of each chapter make it easy find key references - World maps depicting the current distribution of existing and newly emerging viruses are also incorporated into the text




RNA Viruses


Book Description

This is the first comprehensive book on human/animal gene responses to RNA viral infections, including prevalent, emerging and re-emerging RNA viruses such as HIV, SARS-CoV, West Nile virus, influenza virus and many others. Human gene responses are reviewed by leading virologists worldwide in the following aspects: (i) the altered gene expression profiles at the transcriptional and translational levels detected with cutting-edge technologies such as cDNA microarray and proteomics; (ii) host innate and adapted immune responses to viral replication in target organs; (iii) virus-activated signal transduction pathways in cell survival, apoptosis and autophagosomal pathways; and (iv) the small interfering RNA/microRNA-mediated gene silencing pathway, a recently characterized new host defense mechanism against viral infection. Organized into 29 highly accessible and well-illustrated chapters, this volume explores state-of-the-art knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of RNA virus infection and host?virus interactions. This comprehensive compilation of the altered gene expression profiles and signal transduction pathways in host cells in response to the majority of human/animal RNA viruses opens new directions for basic and clinical research on viral pathogenesis, and also provides valuable biomarkers for researchers to select gene targets in the development of diagnostic tests and antiviral therapeutics for a number of infectious diseases.







Microbial Genomics: Clinical, Pharmaceutical, and Industrial Applications


Book Description

As the field of genomics has progressed, our understanding of microbiology has also developed. With the advent of next-generation sequencing methods and advancements in instrumental resolution, complex transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome data could be analyzed, as well as detailed annotation of microbial genomes. Microbial Genomics: Clinical, Pharmaceutical and Industrial Applications focuses on the various applications of microbial genomics in clinical, pharmaceutical and industrial fields. It consists of four parts devoted to bacterial, viral, and fungal genomics, as well as their applications in clinical, pharmaceutical, and industrial fields. Chapters are written by experts in their respective disciplines and are tightly organized with an introduction to detailed descriptions, available software implementation, applications, advanced topics, summaries, analytic questions, exercises, and suggested readings. Throughout this book, the latest genomics and biotechnological developments and discoveries as well as open problems and future challenges on microbial genomics will be highlighted. Readers will be introduced to state-of-the-art developments and trends of microbial genomics, its clinical, pharmaceutical, and industrial applications. The book will be beneficial for researchers who study microbial genomics in universities, post-graduate and graduate programs (biology, biotechnology, medicine, genetics, microbiology, industrial and environmental microbiology, etc.), as well as the pharmaceutical and industrial sector. - Presents the recent genomic developments in the industrial applications of microorganisms - Summarizes recent developments in microbial genomics, emphasizing the role of next-generation sequencing in functional genomics - Focus on how transcriptomics can help better understand host responses to pathogen infection - Describes applications of genomics in clinical microbiology




New Advances on Zika Virus Research


Book Description

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne member of the Flaviviridae family that historically has been associated with mild febrile illness. However, the recent outbreaks in Brazil in 2015 and its rapid spread throughout South and Central America and the Caribbean, together with its association with severe neurological disorders—including fetal microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults—have changed the historic perspective of ZIKV. Currently, ZIKV is considered an important public health concern that has the potential to affect millions of people worldwide. The significance of ZIKV in human health and the lack of approved vaccines and/or antiviral drugs to combat ZIKV infection have triggered a global effort to develop effective countermeasures to prevent and/or treat ZIKV infection. In this Special Issue of Viruses, we have assembled a collection of 32 research and review articles that cover the more recent advances on ZIKV molecular biology, replication and transmission, virus–host interactions, pathogenesis, epidemiology, vaccine development, antivirals, and viral diagnosis.




Reverse Genetics of RNA Viruses


Book Description

Reverse genetics, the genetic manipulation of RNA viruses to create a wild-type or modified virus, has led to important advances in our understanding of viral gene function and interaction with host cells. Since many severe viral human and animal pathogens are RNA viruses, including those responsible for polio, measles, rotaviral diarrhoea and influenza infections, it is also an extremely powerful technique with important potential application for the prevention and control of a range of human and animal viral diseases. Reverse Genetics of RNA Viruses provides a comprehensive account of the very latest developments in reverse genetics of RNA viruses through a wide range of applications within each of the core virus groups including; positive sense, negative sense and double stranded RNA viruses. Written by a team of international experts in the field, it provides a unique insight into how the field has developed, what problems are being addressed now and where applications may lead in the future. It will prove invaluable to bioscience, medical and veterinary students, those starting research in this area as well as other researchers and teachers needing to update their knowledge of this fast-moving field. An authoritative, comprehensive overview of reverse genetics in RNA Viruses. Includes numerous examples of cutting- edge applications of reverse genetics within each of the RNA viral groups. Written by a team of international experts, including some of the leading researchers in the field.




Structure and Physics of Viruses


Book Description

This book contemplates the structure, dynamics and physics of virus particles: From the moment they come into existence by self-assembly from viral components produced in the infected cell, through their extracellular stage, until they recognise and infect a new host cell and cease to exist by losing their physical integrity to start a new infectious cycle. (Bio)physical techniques used to study the structure of virus particles and components, and some applications of structure-based studies of viruses are also contemplated. This book is aimed first at M.Sc. students, Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers with a university degree in biology, chemistry, physics or related scientific disciplines who share an interest or are actually working on viruses. We have aimed also at providing an updated account of many important concepts, techniques, studies and applications in structural and physical virology for established scientists working on viruses, irrespective of their physical, chemical or biological background and their field of expertise. We have not attempted to provide a collection of for-experts-only reviews focused mainly on the latest research in specific topics; we have not generally assumed that the reader knows all of the jargon and all but the most recent and advanced results in each topic dealt with in this book. In short, we have attempted to write a book basic enough to be useful to M.Sc and Ph.D. students, as well as advanced and current enough to be useful to senior scientists with an interest in Structural and/or Physical Virology.




Virus as Populations


Book Description

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




Recoding: Expansion of Decoding Rules Enriches Gene Expression


Book Description

The literature on recoding is scattered, so this superb book ?lls a need by prov- ing up-to-date, comprehensive, authoritative reviews of the many kinds of recoding phenomena. Between 1961 and 1966 my colleagues and I deciphered the genetic code in Escherichia coli and showed that the genetic code is the same in E. coli, Xenopus laevis, and guinea pig tissues. These results showed that the code has been c- served during evolution and strongly suggested that the code appeared very early during biological evolution, that all forms of life on earth descended from a c- mon ancestor, and thus that all forms of life on this planet are related to one another. The problem of biological time was solved by encoding information in DNA and retrieving the information for each new generation, for it is easier to make a new organism than it is to repair an aging, malfunctioning one. Subsequently, small modi?cations of the standard genetic code were found in certain organisms and in mitochondria. Mitochondrial DNA only encodes about 10–13 proteins, so some modi?cations of the genetic code are tolerated that pr- ably would be lethal if applied to the thousands of kinds of proteins encoded by genomic DNA.