Theoretical approaches to disclosing the emergence and adaptive advantages of multipartite viruses

Abstract

Multipartite viruses have a segmented genome encapsidated in different viral particles that, in principle, propagate independently. Current empirical knowledge on the molecular, ecological and evolutionary features underlying the very existence of multipartitism is fragmented and puzzling. Although it is generally assumed that multipartitism is viable only when propagation occurs at high multiplicity of infection, evidence indicates that severe population bottlenecks are common. Mathematical models aimed at describing the dynamics of multipartite viruses typically assign an advantage to the multipartite form to compensate for the cost of high multiplicity of infection. Since progress in the theoretical understanding of the evolutionary ecology of multipartitism is strongly conditioned by empirical advances, both aspects are jointly revised in this contribution.