The mechanisms by which viruses bud from cells are complex and involve interactions with proteins from the host. Indeed, the list of host factors that contribute to the efficient egress of both enveloped RNA and DNA viruses continues to grow. As the molecular details of these virus-host interactions involved in the budding process continue to emerge, so do potential new strategies to inhibit virion egress and spread, and thus the disease process.

The main focus of this special issue will be on the identification and functional analyses of host proteins that, either positively or negatively, influence egress of DNA or RNA viruses. This special issue will include previously undescribed findings as well as novel techniques and strategies for studying virus egress, all of which will help move this field forward and in new directions. Topics to be covered include, but are not limited to:

• Viral proteins that promote budding
• Host proteins that promote/inhibit budding
• Virus-host interactions/complexes relevant to budding
• Budding mechanisms of both RNA and DNA viruses
• Budding antagonists
• Compounds with antiviral (antibudding) activity
• Novel assays to identify budding inhibitors
• Innate immune interactions triggered during virus budding
• Cytoskeletal interactions and enveloped virus assembly
• Role of lipids, microdomains, and membrane curvature in budding
• Reconstitution of membrane curvature and budding in vitro
• New imaging techniques for visualizing virus budding
• Intracellular transport of assembly complexes
• Use of animal models (e.g., knockout mice) to study virus budding

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/av/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: