Distinct viral populations differentiate and evolve independently in a single perennial host plant.

ABSTRACT: The complex structure of virus populations has been the object of intensive study in bacteria, animals, and plants for over a decade. While it is clear that tremendous genetic diversity is rapidly generated during viral replication, the distribution of this diversity within a single host remains an obscure area in this field of science. Among animal viruses, only Human immunodeficiency virus and Hepatitis C virus populations have recently been thoroughly investigated at an intrahost level, where they are structured as metapopulations, demonstrating that the host cannot be considered simply as a "bag" containing a homogeneous or unstructured swarm of mutant viral genomes. In plants, a few reports suggested a possible heterogeneous distribution of virus variants at different locations within

SUBMITTER: Jridi C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1395380 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature