Special Issue "Molecular Genetics of Retrovirus Replication"

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Viruses".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Judith G. Levin
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, United States
Interests: HIV and related retroviruses; reverse transcription; genomic RNA-protein interactions; HIV assembly; human APOBEC3 restriction proteins
Dr. Karin Musier-Forsyth
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Deparment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ohio State University, Columbus, United States
Interests: HIV and related retroviruses; retroviral assembly, genomic RNA packaging and host cell-viral interactions; protein-RNA interactions; aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases
Dr. Alan Rein
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
HIV Dynamics and Replication Program, National Cancer Institute-Frederick, National Institutes of Health, United States
Interests: molecular mechanisms of retrovirus replication; mechanisms of action of antiretroviral host restriction factors
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Within a period of little more than ten years, there were two transformative events that changed the retrovirus field and resulted in a major expansion of the retrovirus scientific community. The first event was the discovery of reverse transcriptase in 1970. Soon thereafter, these viruses, formerly termed “RNA Tumor Viruses”, became known as “Retroviruses”. The second event was the emergence of AIDS, initially a mysterious immunodeficiency disease that led to a global pandemic and was shown to result from infection by a novel human retrovirus called HIV. Most importantly, these two events occurred at a time when advanced molecular technologies including molecular cloning were being developed.

In the intervening years, much has been learned. However, despite the availability of  effective anti-HIV drug therapy, according to UNAIDS estimates, in 2019, 1.7 million people became newly infected with HIV and 690,000 died from AIDS-related illnesses. Clearly, there is still an urgent need for new discoveries that could stimulate development of novel antiviral strategies.  

This Special Issue will focus on the “Molecular Genetics of Retrovirus Replication” and highlight current trends in retrovirus research. We invite submission of reviews on relevant subjects such as molecular analysis of events in the virus replication cycle, protein-nucleic acid interactions, structural analysis, and the activity of host factors that influence virus replication. Consideration of future directions of retrovirus research would also be welcome.

Dr. Judith G. Levin
Dr. Karin Musier-Forsyth
Dr. Alan Rein
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 papers will be 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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses 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 2200 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.

Keywords

  • virus entry
  • virus assembly and processing
  • reverse transcription
  • integration
  • virion ultrastructure
  • viral accessory proteins
  • structure and function of Gag proteins
  • genomic RNA structure and function
  • viral Protein-RNA interactions
  • host factors

Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
Back to TopTop