Equine infectious anemia virus genomic evolution in progressor and nonprogressor ponies.

ABSTRACT: A primary mechanism of lentivirus persistence is the ability of these viruses to evolve in response to biological and immunological selective pressures with a remarkable array of genetic and antigenic variations that constitute a perpetual natural experiment in genetic engineering. A widely accepted paradigm of lentivirus evolution is that the rate of genetic variation is correlated directly with the levels of virus replication: the greater the viral replication, the more opportunities that exist for genetic modifications and selection of viral variants. To test this hypothesis directly, we examined the patterns of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) envelope variation during a 2.5-year period in experimentally infected ponies that differed markedly in clinical progression and in steady-

SUBMITTER: Leroux C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC114210 | biostudies-literature | 2001 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature