Marek’s Disease Virus

Dear colleagues,

Marek’s disease virus (MDV) is a highly oncogenic alphaherpesvirus of chickens and an enormous burden to poultry production worldwide. Despite the control of losses due to Marek’s disease through the widespread use of vaccines, MDV remains a major threat to chickens and field strains have increased in virulence over the past decades. MDV research has led to a profound increase in knowledge of virus-induced pathogenesis and tumor development. However, a more detailed and mechanistic understanding of viral and host factors that contribute to virus replication and pathogenesis, as well as the development of new vaccines and antiviral strategies, are needed to better protect chickens from this deadly disease in the future. This Special Issue will publish manuscripts that provide deeper insights into important aspects of MDV infection, lytic replication, latency, pathogenesis, and immune system interactions, as well as a greater understanding of the evolution of increased virulence of MDV field strains.

We’re looking forward to your contributions!

Prof. Dr. Mark S. Parcells
Dr. Luca D. Bertzbach
Prof. Dr. Benedikt B. Kaufer
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.