Do viruses form lineages across different domains of life?
Dennis H. Bamford May, 2003 Research in Microbiology p230-236

The scarce characterization of the viral world has hampered our efforts to appreciate the magnitude and diversity of the viral domain. It appears that almost every species can be infected by a number of viruses. As our knowledge of viruses increases, it appears that this myriad of viruses may be organized into a reasonably low number of viral lineages including members infecting hosts belonging to different domains of life. Viruses belonging to a lineage share a common innate “self” that refers to structural and assembly principles of the virion. This hypothesis has a few consequences. All viruses are old, maybe preceding cellular life, and virus origins are polyphyletic, as opposed to the idea of a monophyletic origin of cellular life.

ISSN 0923-2508
find it in: Worldcat (for local availability) [check Library of Congress]

Subject: Geoscience:Atmospheric Science:Climatology , Education:Assessment, Biology:Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Ecology:Principles, Biology:Evolution:Principles, Patterns, Bioinformatics
Resource Type: Pedagogic Resources:Research Results, Scientific Resources:Overview/Reference Work, Journal Article
Grade Level: College Lower (13-14), College Upper (15-16), Graduate/Professional
Theme: Teach the Earth:Course Topics:Atmospheric Science, Teach the Earth:Incorporating Societal Issues:Climate Change