The development of recombinant DNA technology has made a marked impact on molecular virology. The cleavage of viral DNA genomes with restriction enzymes and the cloning of such DNA fragments in bacterial p1asmids has led to the amplification of selected viral DNA fragments for sequencing and gene expression. RNA virus genomes which can be transcribed to their cDNA form were also cloned in bacterial p1asmids, facilitating the study of RNA virus genes. With the elucidation in recent years of the promoter sequence of various viral genes and the expression of these genes in bacteria or yeast, the understanding of many viral gene functions has made great progress. Cloning and expression of viral genes in mammalian cells was made possible by the construction of shuttle plasmid vectors which carry the origins of DNA replication from bacteria and/or mammalian viruses. The expression of viral genes in bacteria, yeast and eukaryotic cells gives reason to hope that it will be possible to produce viral antigens in large quantities for use as human or animal vaccines. The present volume attempts to capture for the reader some of the high­ lights of recombinant DNA research in the field of animal and plant viruses.

Cloning and Transfer of Viral Genes.- 1 Cloning of Retrovirus DNA in Bacteria and Cloning of Other DNA in Retroviruses.- 2 Cloning of Human Oncogenes.- Genetic Engineering Strategy.- 3 Development of Plasmids and Cloning Procedures.- 4 Cloned DNA as a Substrate of Bacterial Recombination Systems.- 5 Utilization of ? Control Elements for Gene Expression Studies in Escherichia coli.- Cloning of DNA Virus Genes.- 6 Cloning and Mapping of African Swine Fever Virus DNA.- 7 Cloning of the DNA of Alphaherpesvirinae.- 8 The Cloning and Sequencing of Sites of Linkage Between Adenovirus DNA and Cellular DNA: Recombination of Foreign DNA with the Mammalian Genome.- 9 Cloning of Papillomavirus DNA.- Cloning of Retrovirus DNA.- 10 Cloning of Bovine Leukemia Virus Proviral Information.- 11 Cloning of Endogenous 'Retrovirus-Like' Genes: The Murine VL30 Family.- Cloning of the DNA form of an RNA Virus Genome.- 12 Poliovirus cDNA Cloned in Bacterial Plasmids.- Cloning of Plant Viruses and Viroid Genes.- 13 Cloning and Manipulating Cauliflower Mosaic Virus.- 14 Cloning of Plant Virus Genomes Other Than That of Cauliflower Mosaic Virus.- 15 Cloning of Viroid cDNA.- Expression of Viral Genes in Bacteria.- 16 Expression of Cloned Genes Under Phage ? Control.- 17 Expression of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 and Type 2 Glycoprotein D Genes Using the Escherichia coli lac promoter.- 18 Cloning and Expression of Foot and Mouth Disease Virus Genes.