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Overview
In the last few decades, research has revealed that viruses are fundamental to the photosynthetic capacity of the world’s oceans and the composition of the human microbiome. Perhaps most fascinating, viruses are now recognized as remarkable engines of the genetic innovation that fuels natural selection and catalyzes evolution in all domains of life. Viruses have coevolved with their hosts since the beginning of life on our planet and are part of the evolutionary legacy of every species that has ever lived.
Cordingley explains how viruses are responsible for the creation of many feared bacterial diseases and the emergence of newly pathogenic and drug-resistant strains. And as more and more viruses jump to humans from other animals, new epidemics of viral disease will threaten global society. But Cordingley shows that we can adapt, relying on our evolved cognitive and cultural capacities to limit the consequences of viral infections. Piecing together the story of viruses’ major role within and beyond human disease, Viruses creates a valuable roadmap through the rapidly expanding terrain of virology.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780674972087 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Harvard University Press |
| Publication date: | 06/19/2017 |
| Pages: | 384 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.30(d) |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
1 Obligate Parasites of Cells 5
The Virosphere and Its Metagenome 7
Complexity and "Dark Matter" 11
Selfish Information and the Essence of Being Viral 15
The Emergence of Egotistical Replicators 20
The Viral Empire 21
2 Viruses, Genes, and Ecosystems 22
Lifestyles and Life Cycles 23
Lysogeny: Exercising Temperance 27
Kill the Winner 30
Gene Brokers 33
Selfishness Drives Adaptive Evolution 35
Phages and the Microbiome 39
Unfriendly Competition 42
Chemical Warfare 43
3 Potentiation of Bacterial Diseases by Phages 46
For a Charm of Powerful Trouble 48
Toxic Enablers 49
Choose Your Poison 53
Treasure Islands 56
Prophage Induction and Antibiotic Drug Resistance 59
4 Viruses and Higher Organisms 64
Viruses, Cells, Organisms, and Populations 64
"Just a Virus" 67
Human Rhinoviruses 68
Uncommon Diversity 73
Accidents of Pathogenesis 77
Mutation, Diversity, and Quasipecies 80
5 The Flu: No Common Cold 88
Antigenic Escape Artists 92
Human Influenza A Virus 94
Epidemic Influenza: Dress for the Season 97
Quasispecies, Sequence Clusters, and Codon Bias 99
Correlating Genetic and Antigenic Evolution 103
Seeding of Seasonal Epidemics 105
Pandemic influenza: The Emperor with No Clothes 106
6 Alternative Virus Lifestyles 115
Latency: Till Death Do Us Part 119
All in the Family Herpesviridae 124
7 Evolutionary Mechanisms of DNA Viruses 128
Gene Duplication and Gene Capture 131
Poxvirus Evolution 137
Poxvirus Party Tricks 139
Small DNA Virus Evolution 143
8 Viroids and Megaviruses: Extremes 149
Viroids: The Smallest 150
Evolutionary Reliquary 154
Megaviruses: The Biggest 158
Big and Bigger 160
Virophages: Fleas upon Fleas 161
Chimerism 164
Megavirus Origins: Mavericks at Heart 165
9 HIV-1: A Very Modern Pandemic 167
A New Disease and a New Virus 171
Anatomy of HIV-1 175
HIV in the Making 178
Socioepidemiology of AIDS: A Man-Made Epidemic 182
Within-Host Evolution: A Very Personal Arms Race 185
Shortsighted Evolution 190
Adaptive Evolution: An Evolving Relationship 194
Outrunning the Red Queen 198
Medicine at the Virus-Host interface 201
Resistance Is Futile 202
10 Cross-Species Infections: Means and Opportunity 204
A Rogue's Gallery of Emerging Viruses 207
Adaptive Evolution in Zoonosis 209
Fitness Landscape 211
A Shifting Fitness Landscape 213
The Paradox in RNA Virus Evolution 215
RNA Viruses and Molecular Clocks 219
Arboviruses: Vector-Borne Viruses 224
Evolutionary Compromise 227
Host Restriction 229
11 Future Pandemic Influenza: Enemy at the Gates 236
Real and Present Danger 238
Pandemic Threat Level 241
The Pandemic Phenotype 242
Outbreak 246
12 Ebolavirus 248
EBOV Makona 251
What We Were Afraid to Say about Ebola 253
Evolution or Adaptive Change 256
EBOV Persistence 260
13 Viral Zoonoses and Animal Reservoirs 262
The Usual Suspects 264
Filovirus Origins 265
Bats and Viral Zoonoses 266
A Special Relationship 267
Tolerance and Resistance 269
14 Endogenous Retroviruses: Our Viral Heritage 275
Genome Invasion by Retroviruses 277
Endogenization in Progress 282
Change Agents 286
Domestication of ERV Genes 290
Endogenous Viral Elements 294
15 Viruses as Human Tools 299
Myxoma Virus: Biological Control 300
Genomics of an Attenuated Poxvirus 303
Orthopoxviruses: Past Solutions and Future Problems 305
Live-Attenuated Viruses 307
Attenuation by Design 310
Virus Therapeutics 311
Doctor's Little Helpers 312
Oncolytic Viruses 313
16 Conclusion: Humanity and Viruses 317
The Human Future and Viruses 318
Beauty in Design 321
References 325
Acknowledgments 363
Index 365