Viruses: Molecular Biology, Host Interactions, and Applications to Biotechnology, Second Edition provides an update on recent developments and perspectives, including coverage on the history of viruses, their structure, the organization of their genomes, and strategies in replication and expression. It emphasizes their diversity and versatility, how they cause disease, and how their human, animal, and plant hosts react. Sections also explore the beneficial aspects of viruses and how they can be utilized as tools and targets for biotechnological applications. This edition will appeal to a wide audience, including academics, researchers, and students studying the molecular biology and applications of viruses.Advances in technologies and enhanced surveillance have facilitated the monitoring of virus evolution, transmission dynamics, and pathogenesis. Coupled with the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a better understanding of the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health and the impact viruses have on society and the economy. This new release updates on many critical aspects of viruses and recent research. - Provides a comprehensive overview of the current taxonomy of viruses - Covers the diversity of viruses and related entities (such as viroids and mavericks) and delves into their evolutionary history, structure, and genome organization - Examines the range of viral hosts and mechanisms of virus transmission - Explores the spectrum of virus-host interactions, from beneficial mutualistic relationships to pathogenic interactions that cause disease - Reviews the potential application of viruses in biotechnology, including therapeutics, nanotechnology, and antiviral strategies - Includes new chapters on the characterization of SARS-CoV-2, and highlights lessons learned from the global response, including the rapid development of mRNA-based vaccines

Dr. Tennant received her PhD from Cornell University were she also completed her postdoc prior to returning to Jamaica as a Professor within the Life Sciences at The University of the West Indies. She has been a Visiting Scientist at Cornell University, US Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, and Texas A&M and a visiting lecturer at the Universidad de Los Andes, Venezuela. She has edited or co-edited 6 books and contributed chapters to an additional 7 volumes. She has received numerous awards, including Principal's Award for the Best Publication, Principal's Award for the Most Outstanding Researcher, HKA Career Hall of Fame Award, and Faculty's Award for Outstanding Achievement.Dr. Gustavo Fermin is currently the Programme Coordinator of the United Nations University Biotechnology Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNU-BIOLAC). Dr. Fermin is a Biologist from Universidad de Los Andes (ULA), where he also obtained an MSc in Molecular Biology- shortly after which he began his doctoral studies at Cornell University in Ithaca and Geneva, New York. His research in New York and later in Hawaii with Dr. Dennis Gonsalves focused on creating and molecularly characterising transgenic plants resistant to one or several viruses simultaneously thanks to engineered native or synthetic transgenes. He has taught genetics, genetic engineering, molecular ecology and bioethics, among other advanced courses. An important part of his work has dealt with the education and training of young students in Latin America (Venezuela, El Salvador, Colombia, etc.), and more recently in Africa where he taught at the African-American University of Central Africa (Equatorial Guinea).Dr. Jerome Foster is currently the Biochemistry Coordinator in the Department of Preclinical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine campus where he teaches molecular biology and other health-related biochemistry topics. He has expertise in molecular genetics with over two decades of experience generating and analysing viral sequence data using phylogenetic techniques with much of his work focused on pathogens among alphaviruses, coronaviruses and flaviviruses, such as dengue viruses.