Main description:

Coronaviruses were recognized as a group of enveloped, RNA viruses in 1968 and accepted by the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses as a separate family, the Coronaviridae, in 1975. By 1978, it had become evident that the coronavirus genomic RNA was infectious (i. e. , positive strand), and by 1983, at least the framework of the coronavirus replication strategy had been per ceived. Subsequently, with the application of recombinant DNA techniques, there have been remarkable advances in our understanding of the molecular biology of coronaviruses, and a mass of structural data concerning coronavirus genomes, mRNAs, and pro teins now exists. More recently, attention has been focused on the role of essential and accessory gene products in the coronavirus replication cyde and a molecular analysis of the structure-function relation ships of coronavirus proteins. Nevertheless, there are still large gaps in our knowledge, for instance, in areas such as the genesis of coronavirus subgenomic mRNAs or the function of the coronavirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. The diseases caused by coronaviruses have been known for much longer than the agents themselves. Possibly the first coronavirus-related disease to be recorded was feline infectious peritonitis, as early as 1912. The diseases associ ated with infectious bronchitis virus, transmissible gastroenteritis virus, and murine hepatitis virus were all well known before 1950.

Contents:

The Coronaviridae: An Introduction; S.G. Siddell. Coronavirus Gene Expression: Replication, Transcription and RNA Recombination; R.G. van der Most, W.J.M. Spaan. Coronavirus Gene Expression: Genome Organization and Protein Synthesis; W. Luytjes. Coronavirus Receptors; K.V. Holmes, S.R. Compton. The Coronavirus Surface Glycoprotein; D. Cavanagh. The Coronavirus Membrane Glycoprotein; P.J.M. Rottier. The Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Protein; H. Laude, P.S. Masters. The Coronavirus Heamagglutinin-esterase Glycoprotein; D.A. Brian, et al. The Coronavirus Small Membrane Protein; S.G. Siddell. The Coronavirus Nonstructural Proteins; T.D.K. Brown, I. Brierley. The Molecular Biology of Toroviruses; E.J. Snijder, M.C. Horzinek. The Coronaviruslike Superfamily; E.J. Snijder, W.J.M. Spaan. Pathogenesis and Diseases of the Central Nervous System Caused by Murine Coronaviruses; S. Dales, R. Anderson. Feline Infectious Peritonitis; R.J. de Groot, M.C. Horzinek. Epidemiology of Infectious Bronchitis Virus; J.K.A. Cook, A.P.A. Mockett. Molecular Basis of Transmissible Gastroenteritis Virus (TGEV) Epidemiology; L. Enjuanes, B.A.M. Van der Zeijst. Pathogenesis of the Porcine Coronaviruses; D.J. Garwes. Human Coronavirus Infections; S.H. Myint. The Pathogenesis of Torovirus Infections in Animals and Humans; M. Koopmans, M.C. Horzinek. Index.