Mutation rate variability in viral populations: Implications for lethal mutagenesis.

ABSTRACT: Lethal mutagenesis is a strategy to achieve viral extinction by drugging viral mutation rates beyond an extinction threshold. Accurate estimation of the extinction threshold is critical, as elevating viral mutation rates near, but not past this threshold increases the likelihood of mutations that could result in drug resistance, vaccine escape, or increased pathogenesis. Traditional models of lethal mutagenesis rely on the Poisson distribution, which assumes a uniform mutation rate across individuals. Yet, RNA viruses like influenza A virus (IAV) can have varied mutation rates due to mutations in the polymerase complex. This variability suggests that lethal mutagenesis models incorporating mutation rate diversity, such as ones using the gamma-Poisson distribution, may be more accurate for

SUBMITTER: Arcos S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12799177 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature