Previous estimates of the size of the RNA genome segments of influenza virus have been unreliable because of a lack of suitable RNA species as size markers. We have attempted to overcome this problem by utilising the ability of AMV reverse transcriptase to synthesise full length DNA copies of RNA molecules in the presence of a suitable primer. By comparing such DNA copies of the RNA segments of...

A filamentous fungus Cryphonectria parasitica (Murrill) Barr. is the causal agent of the chestnut blight disease. This fungus has some hypovirulent strains. These strains are known to be infected by viruses. To date, many species of viruses have been found to be associated with C. parasitica strains. The number genome segments, their relative size, titer and sequence homology as well as the eff...

Influenza A virus (IAV) has a segmented genome that allows for the exchange of genome segments between different strains. This reassortment accelerates evolution by breaking linkage, helping IAV cross species barriers to potentially create highly virulent strains. Challenges associated with monitoring the process of reassortment in molecular detail have limited our understanding of its evolutio...

Multipartite plant viruses were discovered because of discrepancies between the observed dose response and predictions of the independent-action hypothesis (IAH) model. Theory suggests that the number of genome segments predicts the shape of the dose-response curve, but a rigorous test of this hypothesis has not been reported. Here, Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV), a tripartite Alfamovirus, and tran...