Abstract

Two groups of plant viruses have DNA in their genomes. One group, the caulimoviruses, are non‐integrating retroviruses that package dsDNA in virions. The other group, the geminiviruses, package small circular ssDNA and include the only DNA viruses known with bipartite genomes. The regulation of transcription of these viruses is not well characterized, but recent work is beginning to yield interesting results. Regulatory sequences from these viruses function in cells of species that are not hosts of the virus and are finding use in constitutive expression of chimeric genes in transformed plants. Development of vectors based on plant viruses requires further characterization at the molecular level of viral life cycles.