Evolution

The RNA phages have presented substantial background for the studies on the phylogeny and genome evolution. The RNA phage-provoked evolution story started with the Qβ replicase, Spiegelman's Monster, and the extracellular Darwinian experiments in vitro. Many aspects of these studies are not fully understood also today. The chapter concentrates on the full account of the template-dependent and template-independent syntheses driven by the Qβ replicase. It sheds light on the up-to-date status quo not only in the self-replication by Spiegelman, but also for the multicomponent structure of the Qβ RNA replicase and the fine mechanisms of the Qβ RNA synthesis. The information of fast all midi-, micro-, and nanovariants of the Qβ replicable RNA family is presented. The methodology of the molecular colonies and of the autocatalytic synthesis of heterologous RNAs by the Qβ replicase, including its use in diagnostics, is unveiled. The problems of the RNA World, phylogeny of the RNA-dependent polymerases, recombination of the RNA phages and their quasispecies are discussed.