The Importance of Being Non-Defective: A Mini Review Dedicated to the Memory of Jan Svoboda

Abstract

Jan Svoboda triggered investigations on non-defective avian sarcoma viruses. These viruses were a critical factor in the genetic understanding of retroviruses. They provided the single and unique access to the field and facilitated the discovery of the first oncogene src and of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes. They continue to be of importance as singularly effective expression vectors that have provided insights into the molecular functions of numerous oncogenes. Combined with the contributions to the validation of the provirus hypothesis, Jan Svoboda’s investigations of non-defective avian sarcoma viruses have shaped a large and important part of retrovirology.

The Current View of Retroviruses as Seen from the Shoulders of a Giant

“…Jan’s life and scientific merits have recently been described in two commemorative papers [1,2]. Furthermore, his principal contributions to understanding the genetics of retroviruses and oncogene transduction were put into the context of retrovirus defectiveness research conducted in the 1960s and 1970s in an excellent mini-review [3]. This Special Issue was intended not only to remember Jan’s seminal work, but also to point out the recent progress in topics he pursued during his 60-year long career in virology, and particularly the work he crafted in the last years with his latest students and peers.…”