How virulence evolves after a virus jumps to a new host species is central to disease
emergence. Our current understanding of virulence evolution is based on insights drawn …

Recombination occurs in many RNA viruses and can be of major evolutionary significance.
However, rates of recombination vary dramatically among RNA viruses, which can range …

Understanding the factors that determine the rate at which genomes generate and fix
mutations provides important insights into key evolutionary mechanisms. We review our …

Fluctuating asymmetry consists of random deviations from perfect symmetry in populations
of organisms. It is a measure of developmental noise, which reflects a population's average …

Viruses, as obligate intracellular parasites, are the pathogens that have the most intimate
relationship with their host, and as such, their genomes have been shaped directly by …

RNA viruses provide unique insights into the patterns and processes of evolutionary change
in real time. The study of viral evolution is especially topical given the growing awareness …

Viruses are common agents of plant infectious diseases. During last decades, worldwide
agriculture production has been compromised by a series of epidemics caused by new …

The distribution of fitness effects of protein mutations is still unknown,. Of particular interest is
whether accumulating deleterious mutations interact, and how the resulting epistatic effects …

RNA viruses are unique in their evolutionary capacity, exhibiting high mutation rates and
frequent recombination. They rapidly adapt to environmental changes, such as shifts in …

The genome diversity of RNA viruses allows for rapid adaptation to a wide variety of adverse
conditions. Accordingly, viruses can escape inhibition by most antiviral compounds targeting …