Elsevier

Current Opinion in Virology

Volume 23, April 2017, Pages 125-129
Current Opinion in Virology

Promiscuous viruses—how do viruses survive multiple unrelated hosts?

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coviro.2017.05.002Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Adoption of a multi-host lifestyle requires specific mechanisms for replication in highly taxonomically divergent hosts.

  • Many medically important arboviruses derive from a vast pool of insect-associated viruses.

  • Arboviral proteins and RNA meditate the multi-host lifestyle by subverting, suppressing and/or circumventing host immunity.

Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) require efficient replication in taxonomically divergent hosts in order to perpetuate in nature. This review discusses recent advances in our understanding of the phylogenetic position of arthropod-borne viruses relative to insect-specific viruses, which appear to be more common and ecological requirements for successful adoption of the ‘arbovirus phenotype.’ Several molecular and other mechanisms that permit replication in divergent hosts are also discussed.

Section snippets

Conflicts of interest statement

I have no conflicts of interest to declare.

References and recommended reading

Papers of particular interest, published within the period of review, have been highlighted as:

  • • of special interest

  • •• of outstanding interest

Acknowledgements

Research in the Ebel laboratory is funded by the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, under grants AI067380, AI129593 and AI125996.

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