The development and consumption of genetically modified (GM) crops are surrounded by
controversy. According to proponents, only molecular biology approaches and genetic …

The term virulence has a conflicting history among plant pathologists. Here we define
virulence as the degree of damage caused to a host by parasite infection, assumed to be …

Background Viruses of the genus Begomovirus (family Geminiviridae) have genomes
consisting of either one or two genomic components. The component of bipartite …

Although single stranded (ss) DNA viruses that infect humans and their domesticated
animals do not generally cause major diseases, the arthropod borne ssDNA viruses of …

Highlights•Recombination is inherent to the geminivirus replication process.•Recombination
is adaptive in the family, allowing for host shifts and increased host ranges.•Recombination …

We propose that clonal evolution in micropathogens be defined as restrained recombination
on an evolutionary scale, with genetic exchange scarce enough to not break the prevalent …

Background Although variation provides the raw material for natural selection and evolution,
few empirical data exist about the factors controlling morphological variation. Because …

Plant pathogenic geminiviruses have been proliferating worldwide and have, therefore,
attracted considerable scientific interest during the past three decades. Current knowledge …

The combinatorial nature of genetic recombination can potentially provide organisms with
immediate access to many more positions in sequence space than can be reached by …

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is thought to evolve largely through genetic drift
driven by the inherently error-prone nature of its RNA polymerase. There is, however …