Satellites and Defective Viral RNAs

This is an overview of a diverse array of defective RNA's associated with virus infections. These agents span a continuum ranging from parasitic to synergic. They include defective molecules with relatively simple genome organizations that depend on all of the functions encoded by their helper viruses, as well as complexes consisting of defective virus-like components that require only a single gene necessary for a critical function. Individual chapters by selected authorities in the field discuss the biology of these agents, their roles in disease development, the structural features and replicative mechanisms characteristic of each defective entity, and the functions supplied by their helper viruses.