Bøger i The Viruses serien

The first volume of the series entitled Comprehensive Virology was pub lished in 1974 and the last is yet to appear. In fact, we felt then, and feel even more strongly now, that viruses, being simpler biological models, could serve as valuable probes for investigating the biology of the far more complex host cell.

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 own messenger RNA.

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 yeast to human.

The chapters on the epidemiology and latency of HSV, and on the glycoproteins specified by HSV and CMV, set the stage for the discussions of the immunobiology and pathogenesis of human herpesvirus infections in Volume 4.

During the past two decades, virus taxonomy has advanced to the point where most viruses can be classified as belonging to families, genera, or groups of related viruses.

It has been more than twenty years since the isolation of polyoma virus and SV40, and the reports that they could produce tumors in animals and transformation of cells in culture. One major area of study has been on cells transformed by viruses that show altered growth properties and specify new viral and cellular proteins.

Influenza virus is an important human pathogen, frequently causing widespread disease and a significant loss of life.

The first volume of the nineteen-volume series entitled Comprehensive Virology was published in 1974 and the last is yet to appear. In fact, we felt then, and feel even more strongly now, that viruses, being simpler biological models, could serve as valuable probes for investigating the biology of the far more complex host cell.

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.

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.

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.

The books in this acclaimed series are the most detailed, up-to-date accounts of the field available. Volume 3 explores the oncogenic potential shared by retroviruses of different species, the widespread presence of retrovirues in nature, and the role of retroviruses in normal development and pathogenesis.

Their work will broaden both the clinician's and the researcher's knowledge of basic mechanisms of immunological tolerance, viral immunosuppression, the nature of protective immune responses to vaccination, and viral effects on cell functions.

The past decade has witnessed an explosion of information on the molecular biology of insect viruses and a frenzy of activity in applying this information to medicine and agriculture.

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 own messenger RNA.

In this second volume in the series The Retroviridae, the readers are treated to up-to-date reviews on these viruses, which are found in a variety of animal species.

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.

More recently, attention has been focused on the role of essential and accessory gene products in the coronavirus replication cyde and a molecular analysis of the structure-function relation ships of coronavirus proteins.

Much less is known of the mechanisms of viroid func tion, such as the exact pathway and enzymology of viroid replication and the biochemistry of viroid pathogenesis.

The discovery of adenoviruses naturally induced a new interest in viruses of the human upper respiratory tract since previously unknown viruses infecting this portion of the human body had not been identified in 20 years, and their unique characteristics stimulated investigations into the biochemical events essential for replication of animal viruses. Indeed, the field of molecular virology has evolved during the period since their dis­ covery, and adenoviruses have played a major role in this development. The exciting discoveries made with adenoviruses have had such a pro­ found effect on knowledge in basic virology, molecular biology, viral ge­ netics, human and animal infections, and cell transformation that this seemed a propitious time to have some of the major contributors review this field. This volume pays tribute to the late Wallace Rowe, Robert Huebner, and Maurice Hilleman whose initial discoveries of adenoviruses have tremendously enriched virology. Harold S. Ginsberg vii Contents Chapter 1 An Overview 1 Harold S. Ginsberg Chapter 2 The Architecture of Adenoviruses M. V. Nermut I. Introduction ................................... . 5 II. Chemical and Physical Properties ................... . 6 III. Virus Capsid: Composition and Organization .......... . 7 A. Hexon ..................................... . 10 B. Penton .................................... . 12 C. Other Virus Polypeptides Associated with the Capsid 13 D. Organization of the Capsid ..................... . 14 IV. Virus Core .................................... . 15 A. Evidence for the Core Shell ..................... . 17 B. Organization of the DNA-Protein Complex (Nucleoc- sid) ....................................... . 18 C. Tentative Model of the Adenovirus Nucleocapsid ... . 22 V. Model ofthe Adenovirion ......................... . 29 32 References .......................................... .

Insects are infected by a diverse medley of viruses, and this volume focuses on those insect virus families that are found primarily or exclusively in insects.

More recently, attention has been focused on the role of essential and accessory gene products in the coronavirus replication cyde and a molecular analysis of the structure-function relation ships of coronavirus proteins.

Examines the biology, molecular biology, and diseases of the Bunyaviridae, and provides information on the genetic characterization and variations of this virus group. This book deals with the molecular biology of five genera: Bunyavirus, Hantavirus, Nairovirus, Phlebovirus, and Tospovirus.