Viruses: Essential Agents of Life (eBook)

Preface; Guenther Witzany.- 1. Revolutionary struggle for existence: introduction to four intriguing puzzles in virus research; Matti Jalasvuori.- 2. Quasispecies dynamics of RNA viruses; Miguel Angel Martínez et al.- 3. The origin of virions and virocells: the escape hypothesis revisited; Patrick Forterre, Mart Krupovic.- 4. Scratching the Surface of Biology's Dark Matter; Merry Youle et al.- 5. Virus universe: can it be constructed from a limited number of viral architectures; Hanna M. Oksanen et al.- 6. The addiction module as a social force; Luis Villarreal.- 7. Viral integration and consequences on host gene expression; Sébastien Desfarges, Angela Ciuffi.- 8. Persistent plant viruses:  molecular hitchhikers or epigenetic elements?; Marilyn Roossinck.- 9. The concept of virus in the post-Megavirus era; Jean Michel Claverie, Chantal Abergel.- 10. Unpacking the baggage : Origin and Evolution of Giant Viruses; Jonathan Filee, Michael Chandler.- 11. Megavirales composing a fourth domain of life: Mimiviridae and Marseilleviridae; Philippe Colson, Didier Raoult.- 12. On viruses, bats and men: a natural history of food-borne viral infections; Harald Brussow.- 13. LTR retroelement-derived protein-coding genes and vertebrate evolution; Domitille Chalopin et al.- 14. Koala retrovirus endogenisation in action; Rachael Tarlington.- 15. The evolutionary interplay between exogenous and endogenous sheep betaretroviruses; Alessia Armezzani et al.- 16. Endogenous retroviruses and the epigenome ; Andrew B. Conley, I.King Jordan.- 17. From viruses to genes: syncytins; Philippe Pérot et al.- 18. Hepatitis G Virus or GBV-C: A Natural Anti-HIV Interfering Virus; Omar Bagasra et al.- 19. Salutary Contributions of Viruses to Medicine and Public Health; Steve Abedon.- 20. From Molecular Entities to Competent Agents: Viral Infection-Derived Consortia Act as Natural Genetic Engineers; Guenther Witzany.