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Evolutionary transitions during RNA virus experimental evolution.

Santiago F Elena1

  • 1Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Campus UPV CPI 8E, Ingeniero Fausto Elio s/n, 46022 València, Spain Instituto de Biología Integrativa y de Sistemas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universitat de València, Parc Científic de la Universitat de València, Catedrático Agustín Escardino 9, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA santiago.elena@csic.es.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|July 20, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Major evolutionary transitions, like the origin of cells or language, are also occurring in viruses. Experimental evolution allows real-time observation of viral transitions, including new host infections and gene evolution.

Keywords:
emerging virusesexperimental evolutiongenome complexity and evolutionvirus evolutionvirus sociology

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Virology
  • Systems biology

Background:

  • Major evolutionary transitions involve the emergence of complex entities from simpler units.
  • Examples include the origin of eukaryotic cells and multicellularity.
  • These transitions are typically studied at macroscopic levels of biological organization.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate major evolutionary transitions occurring at the viral level.
  • To demonstrate that these transitions can be observed in real-time through experimental evolution.
  • To review specific examples of viral evolutionary transitions.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent experimental evolution studies with viruses.
  • Analysis of viral adaptation and evolution within host environments.
  • Observation of viral interactions during co-infections.

Main Results:

  • Four major evolutionary transitions in viruses were identified: origin of novel host-infecting viruses, gene incorporation and loss, genome segmentation, and evolution of cooperation and cheating.
  • Experimental evolution provides a dynamic view of these viral transitions.
  • Viral transitions significantly alter host-virus interactions and viral genetic makeup.

Conclusions:

  • Major evolutionary transitions are not limited to macroscopic biological scales but also occur within the viral world.
  • Experimental evolution is a powerful tool for studying these rapid viral transitions in real-time.
  • Understanding viral evolutionary transitions offers insights into the fundamental processes driving biological complexity.