The Prehistory of Potyviruses: Their Initial Radiation Was during the Dawn of Agriculture

Abstract

Our studies indicate that the partial coat protein genes of potyviruses have an evolutionary rate of about 1.15x10(-4) nucleotide substitutions/site/year, and the initial radiation of the potyviruses occurred only about 6,600 years ago, and hence coincided with the dawn of agriculture. We discuss the ways in which agriculture may have triggered the prehistoric emergence of potyviruses and fostered their speciation.