New Insights Into Virus Bioinformatics

Viruses are microscopic and infectious microorganisms that are made up of genetic material enclosed in a protein coating. They cause a variety of serious infectious diseases including influenza, hepatitis, common cold, rabies, AIDS, smallpox, dengue fever and measles. Viruses are classified into four types based on the host cell that they infect, and these include plant viruses, bacteriophages, animal viruses and fungal viruses. Virology is the scientific study of viruses and virus-like agents. The study of viral infections and outbreaks using methods of bioinformatics has become essential to virology research. These methods have been used effectively to diagnose, treat and prevent infections in both animals and humans. Bioinformatics investigations that can be performed on viruses include motif and epitope recognition, homology searching, identification of open reading frames, sequence alignment, and gene prediction. This book provides new insights into virus bioinformatics. It presents researches and studies performed by experts across the globe. The extensive content of this book provides the readers with a thorough understanding of the subject.