Herpesviruses are large double stranded DNA animal viruses with the 
distinguishing ability to establish latent, life-long infections. To date, eight 
human herpesviruses that exhibit distinct biological and corresponding 
pathological/clinical properties have been identified. During their life cycles, 
herpesviruses execute an intricate chain of events geared towards optimizing 
their replication. This sets an interesting paradigm to study fundamental 
biological processes. This review summarizes recent developments in herpesvirus 
research with emphasis on genome transactions, particularly with respect to the 
prototypic herpes simplex virus type-1.