Evolution of Viral Virulence
A special issue of Microbiology Research (ISSN 2036-7481).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 March 2024) | Viewed by 2188
Special Issue Editors
Interests: virology; virus–host interactions; vaccines; innate immunity; RNA virus; DNA virus; foreign animal diseases; RNA recombination
Interests: evolution; pathogenesis; vaccines
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The evolution of viral virulence is a complex and dynamic process influenced by multiple factors, including the host immune system, availability of susceptible hosts, and competition between different viral strains (co-infections). Distinct (weak or strong) immune responses can put selective pressure on a virus to evolve to cause either milder or more virulent infections. This leads to a co-evolutionary arms race, with the virus constantly evolving to evade host immunity and the host immune system evolving to defend against new viral strains. The outcome of this arms race will depend on the intrinsic features of a virus, such as the rate of mutation, quasispecies, and recombination capabilities to increase infectivity and transmissibility, which could lead to zoonotic spillovers.
In this Special Issue, we will focus on the most recent advances related to the evolution of viral virulence (RNA and DNA viruses) and their effects on zoonotic spillovers as well as the emergence of infectious diseases. Topics include virus–host coevolution and zoonoses, immune evasion, virulence evolution, coinfection, virus recombination, viral quasispecies, etc. We encourage all types of manuscripts (e.g., reviews, research articles, and short communications) that further the discussion of the evolution of viral virulence.
Dr. Gisselle N. Medina
Dr. Lauro Velazquez-Salinas
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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