ABSTRACT
24Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) is the type member of the caulimoviruses, a group of isometric plant viruses whose virions contain dsDNA. Not many years ago, the discussion of these DNA-containing viruses in a series devoted to RNA genetics would have been an unexpected and apparently inappropriate inclusion. However, the CaMV circular DNA molecule found in mature virions orignates from reverse transcription of a long RNA transcript that represents the entire viral genome and features a direct terminal repeat. As with retroviruses and retrotransposons, the CaMV genome passes through an RNA phase, and as such may be susceptible to the genetic variation events specific to RNA.
