Plant viruses utilize several mechanisms to generate the large amount of genetic diversity found both within and between species. Plant RNA viruses and pararetroviruses probably have highly error prone replication mechanisms, that result in numerous mutations and a quasispecies nature. The plant DNA viruses also exhibit diversity, but the source of this is less clear. Plant viruses frequently use recombination and reassortment as driving forces in evolution, and, occasionally, other mechanisms such as gene duplication and overprinting. The amount of variation found in different species of plant viruses is remarkably different, even though there is no evidence that the mutation rate varies. The origin of plant viruses is uncertain, but several possible theories are proposed. The relationships between some plant and animal viruses suggests a common origin, possibly an insect virus. The propensity for rapid adaptation makes tracing the evolutionary history of viruses difficult, and long term control of virus disease nearly impossible, but it provides an excellent model system for studying general mechanisms of molecular evolution.

中文翻译：

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植物病毒进化的机制。

植物病毒利用多种机制来产生物种内部和物种之间发现的大量遗传多样性。植物RNA病毒和副逆转录病毒可能具有高度易错的复制机制，从而导致许多突变和准物种。植物DNA病毒也表现出多样性，但是其来源尚不清楚。植物病毒经常使用重组和重排作为进化的驱动力，并偶尔使用其他机制，例如基因复制和套印。即使没有证据表明突变率发生变化，在不同种类的植物病毒中发现的变异量也显着不同。植物病毒的来源尚不确定，但提出了几种可能的理论。某些动植物病毒之间的关系暗示了一个共同的起源，可能是昆虫病毒。快速适应的趋势使得追踪病毒的进化历史变得困难，并且几乎不可能控制病毒疾病，但是它为研究分子进化的一般机制提供了一个极好的模型系统。