It has been known for a long time that the majority of plant viruses contain RNA and in the past decade and a half it has been realized that many have genomes consisting of three molecules of single-stranded RNA with positive polarity. Among these are viruses belonging to four groups recognized by the International Committee for Virus Taxonomy: the Bromovirus and Cucumovirus groups whose genomes are encapsi dated in small icosahedral particles or the Ilarvirus and alfalfa mosaic virus groups with spheroidal or bacilliform particles. In addition to their tripartite genomes, these viruses share...

It has been 10 years since Plenum included a series of reviews on bacte riophages, in Comprehensive Virology. Chapters in that series contained physical-genetic maps but very little DNA sequence information. Now the complete DNA sequence is known for some phages, and the se quences for others will soon follow. During the past 10 years two phages have come into common use as reagents: A phage for cloning single copies of genes, and Ml3 for cloning and DNA sequencing by the dideoxy termi nation method. Also during that period the use of alternative sigma fac tors by RNA polymerase has become...

It has been 10 years since the Plenum Publishing Corporation printed a series of review articles on bacteriophages in Comprehensive Virology. Articles in that series contained physical-genetic maps but very little DNA sequence information. Now the complete DNA sequence is known for some phages, and others will soon follow. During the past 10 years, two phages have come into common use as reagents: A phage for cloning single copies of genes, and M13 for cloning and DNA sequencing by the dideoxy termination method. Also during this period the use of alter- native sigma factors by RNA polymerase...

The viruses of the family Rhabdoviridae have an exceedingly broad host range and are widely distributed throughout the animal and plant king- doms. Animal rhabdoviruses infect and often cause disease in insects, fish, and mammals, including man. The prototype rhabdovirus, vesicular stomatitis virus VSV), has been extensively studied and provides perhaps the best model system for studying negative-strand viruses. The popularity of VSV as a model system is to a considerable extent due to its relative simplicity and to its rapid growth, generally to high titer, in many cell types ranging from...

The publication of this volume of The Viruses entitled The Togaviridae and Flaviviridae comes at an appropriate time. The structure and rep lication strategies of these viruses are now known to be sufficiently di verse to warrant the removal of flaviviruses from the Togaviridae family and establish them as an independent family. Flaviviridae have a special place in the history of virology. The prototype virus-yellow fever virus was the first virus to be identified as the cause of a human disease. Some of the history of this discovery is described in Chapter 1 of this volume; in Chapter 10 the...

It is now just 20 years since Gomatos and his co-workers at the Rocke- feller University showed that the nucleic acid in reovirus particles is double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). This discovery created great excitement, for dsRNA was at that time under intense investigation as the replicative form of viral genomes consisting of single-stranded RNA. An equally interesting and important finding followed soon after: it was found that the reovirus genome consists, not of a single nucleic acid molecule, but of 10 discrete "segments," each with its specific sequence content and each transcribed into its...

The original aim of this book was to cover different aspects of the tradi- tionally "filamentous" potex-, carla-, poty-, clostero-, and capilloviruses. The title The Filamentous Plant Viruses seemed the only suitable one, but it has led us to discuss also the quite different filamentous viruses of the rice stripe group-recently officially named the tenuivirus group- which otherwise, indeed, might not have been conveniently covered in any volume of this series. The question must be asked: What is there new that justifies the presentation of a book of this kind? An outline of the answer may be...

The Parvoviridae have been of increasing interest to reseachers in the past decade. Their small size and simple structure have made them ame- nable to detailed physiochemical analysis, and from this work relatively detailed information has resulted that has signficantly increased our un- derstanding of the biology of these viruses. It has become clear that the Parvoviridae are of interest not only for their own sake, but also because their relative simplicity renders them useful probes in the study of the biology of host cells and of other DNA viruses with which they interact. The...

In this comprehensive reference, leading researchers examine the biology, molecular biology, and diseases of the Bunyaviridae, and provide up-to-date information on the genetic characterization and variations of this virus group. Chapters deal with the molecular biology of five genera: Bunyavirus, Hantavirus, Nairovirus, Phlebovirus, and Tospovirus. Chapters examine Bunyaviridae assembly and intracelluar protein transport as well as Bunyaviridae genetics. Contributors discuss the Bunyaviridae diseases, including the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.