preprints.org > biology and life sciences > virology > doi: 10.20944/preprints201906.0106.v2

Preprint Review Version 2 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Version 1 : Received: 11 June 2019 / Approved: 12 June 2019 / Online: 12 June 2019 (15:29:49 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 21 April 2020 / Approved: 22 April 2020 / Online: 22 April 2020 (06:02:05 CEST)

The success of many viruses depends upon cooperative interactions between viral genomes. For example, viruses that coinfect the same cell can share essential gene products, such as replicase, the enzyme that replicates the viral genome. However, when cooperation occurs, there is the potential for ‘cheats’ to exploit that cooperation. We suggest that: (1) the biology of viruses makes viral cooperation particularly susceptible to cheating; (2) cheats are common across a wide range of viruses, including viral entities that are already well studied, such as defective interfering genomes, and satellite viruses. Consequently, evolutionary theory developed to explain cheating offers a conceptual framework for understanding and manipulating viral dynamics. At the same time, viruses offer unique opportunities to study how cheats evolve, because cheating is relatively common in viruses, compared with taxa where cooperation is more usually studied, such as animals.

virus evolution; cheat; cooperation; social evolution; defective interfering genome; satellite virus

Biology and Life Sciences, Virology

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