Continuous genetic variation and selection of virus subpopulations in the course of RNA virus replications are intimately related to viral disease mechanisms. The central topics of this volume are the origins of the quasispecies concept, and the implications of quasispecies dynamics for viral populations.

This volume brings together recent developments in quasispecies theory extended to variable environments and practical applications in elucidating viral dynamics and treatment designs. In particular, the existence of an error threshold in rugged fitness landscapes has opened the way to a new antiviral strategy termed lethal mutagenesis, which is now under intensive theoretical, experimental and clinical investigation. As such the book explains how an understanding of quasispecies dynamics within infected organisms has increased our knowledge of viral disease events. From a clinical perspective, population dynamics highlights important problems for viral disease control, such as the selection of drug-resistant mutants that often accompanies treatment failures, and suggests means of increasing the effectiveness of antiviral treatments. The book is intended for students and scientists interested in basic and applied aspects of biophysics, chemistry, biology, evolution and medical virology.

Rhabdoviruses and Filoviruses are single-stranded, non-segmented, negative-strand RNA viruses, many of which cause significant morbidity and mortality in humans and animals. Certain members of these virus families have been used as excellent model systems to understand the molecular biology of replication, host responses to infections, and viral countermeasures. Rhabdoviruses have also been used as vaccine vectors as well as oncolytic agents.Studies on Filoviruses have now provided significant insights into how they enter susceptible cells, replicate and cause disease, and also how they evade the host's immune mechanisms. This book addresses the most recent findings on Rhabdovirus and Filovirus structure, replication mechanisms, host cell responses to virus infections and viral countermeasures. Chapters on emerging viruses as well as approaches for therapeutic interventions have also been included.This book represents an authoritative text that brings together the most recent advances on the cellular and molecular biology of Rhabdo- and Filoviruses, including mechanisms of pathogenesis.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has been recognized in printed records dating from the sixteenth century, and since the eradication of rinderpest (cattle plague) in the early part of the twentieth century it has been rec- nized as the most important and feared disease of cattle and other dom- tic livestock. The beginning of the twenty-first century brought the worst outbreak of FMD ever experienced in England, which had been completely free of the disease for 33 years. This tragic epidemic, which spread to Northern Ireland, Scotland, France and the Netherlands with severe e- nomic consequences, emphasized the need for further research into better methods for the detection and control of the disease. FMD is caused by a small RNA virus which is highly contagious and can survive in meat and other animal products for long periods at normal pH levels. The virus typically infects cloven-hoofed animals, including c- tle, goats, pigs and sheep, as well as a wide range of non-domesticated a- mals in regions of the world where FMD virus is endemic, such as the Af- can continent. There are seven recognized serotypes of FMD virus, with numerous subtypes, and as a consequence vaccine production and administration is complex and a major debate surrounds every disease outbreak regarding the relative merits of vaccination as opposed to the slaughter of all infected animals.

New viral diseases are emerging continuously. Viruses adapt to new environments at astounding rates. Genetic variability of viruses jeopardizes vaccine efficacy. For many viruses mutants resistant to antiviral agents or host immune responses arise readily, for example, with HIV and influenza. These variations are all of utmost importance for human and animal health as they have prevented us from controlling these epidemic pathogens. This book focuses on the mechanisms that viruses use to evolve, survive and cause disease in their hosts. Covering human, animal, plant and bacterial viruses, it provides both the basic foundations for the evolutionary dynamics of viruses and specific examples of emerging diseases. - NEW - methods to establish relationships among viruses and the mechanisms that affect virus evolution - UNIQUE - combines theoretical concepts in evolution with detailed analyses of the evolution of important virus groups - SPECIFIC - Bacterial, plant, animal and human viruses are compared regarding their interation with their hosts

Antiviral Drug Discovery gives readers a cutting-edge view of how chemical concepts are being mobilized to develop novel approaches that will effectively confront emerging diseases and biowarfare. Among the many topics discussed are smallpox, the Ebola virus, influenza, SARS, arenaviruses and flaviviruses. Each chapter discusses hypothetical strategies for the discovery of relevant antiviral agents, recent findings related to biochemistry or drug discovery, and advances in the further development of established leads in the area. Timely and informative, this book clearly delineates the efforts being made to develop new and effective broad-spectrum antiviral agents.

Offering a clear and authoritative overview of recent developments in microbiology and neuroscience, this reference describes factors contributing to the emergence and resurgence of neurological infections-studying both new and drug-resistant pathogens, as well as long-term prevention and control strategies for these diseases.

A springboard for developing new approaches to understanding, preventing, and treating picornaviral diseases. • Examines the most current breakthroughs as well as the challenges that lie ahead in picornavirus research; encapsulates current knowledge of the molecular biology, evolution, and pathogenesis of this large family of viruses; and, examines the diseases that these viruses cause and the latest vaccines and antiviral drugs to prevent and control those diseases. • Explores the structural and mechanistic bases of picornavirus replication, highlighting new insights about the host cell interactions needed for virus growth; and, illustrates how the regular occurrence of mutations, typical of viruses with RNA as genetic material, generates the quasispecies dynamics that underlie viral fitness. • Focuses on picornaviruses that cause disease, examining pathogenicity and innate and acquired immune responses against infection as well as the latest vaccine and antiviral drug strategies.

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