The ability to sequence genomes from ancient biological material has provided a rich source
of information for evolutionary biology and engaged considerable public interest. Although …

Cowpox viruses (CPXVs) exhibit the broadest known host range among the Poxviridae
family and have caused lethal outbreaks in various zoo animals and pets across 12 …

Poxviruses are known to evolve slower than RNA viruses with only 1–2 mutations/genome/
year. Rather than single mutations, rearrangements such as gene gain and loss, which have …

The advances in the development of drugs and vaccines for major infectious diseases of
tuberculosis (TB), malaria and HIV represent some of the most significant milestones in their …

After the European colonization of the Americas, there was a dramatic population collapse of
the Indigenous inhabitants caused in part by the introduction of new pathogens. Although …

Orthopoxviruses comprise several relevant pathogens, including the causative agent of
smallpox and monkeypox virus. Analysis of orthopoxvirus genome evolution mainly focused …

Genetic recombination is used as a tool for modifying the composition of poxvirus genomes
in both discovery and applied research. This review documents the history behind the …

According to a recent article published in Genome Biology, Duggan and coworkers
sequenced and partially assembled five genomes of smallpox vaccines from the nineteenth …

Vaccinia virus (VACV) was used for smallpox eradication, but its ultimate origin remains
unknown. The genetic relationships among vaccine stocks are also poorly understood. We …

Humans have battled viruses for millennia. However, directly linking the symptomatology of
disease outbreaks to specific viral pathogens was not possible until the twentieth century …