title: [Genetic variation and recombination have profound medical implications].
abstract: In the family Herpesviridae, the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae contains numerous pathogenic viruses, i.e. herpes simplex and varicella-zoster viruses. These double-stranded DNA viruses exhibit a complex cycle combining lytic and latent infections. Moreover, both intranuclear replication and a sophisticated DNA replication machinery allow an efficient proof-reading mechanism of correction. A low mutation rate is therefore encountered by these viruses. Recombination can be identified as a key element of the genetic biodiversity of alphaherpesviruses, together with mutations. The experimental data recently obtained in the bovine herpesvirus 1 homologous model support the importance of recombination in alphaherpesvirus evolution and its role in the mechanisms involved by the virus to escape from medical tools of prevention and treatment.
authors.affiliation: Virologie et pathologie des maladies virales, département des maladies infectieuses et parasitaires, Faculté de Médecine vétérinaire, U.Lg.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Thiry
authors.forename: M M L
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Colombo
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Foidart
mesh_terms: D000524:Alphavirus / Q000235:genetics*; D018354:Alphavirus Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics*; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D011995:Recombination, Genetic
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D004279:DNA, Viral