Rate of novel host invasion affects adaptability of evolving RNA virus lineages.

ABSTRACT: Although differing rates of environmental turnover should be consequential for the dynamics of adaptive change, this idea has been rarely examined outside of theory. In particular, the importance of RNA viruses in disease emergence warrants experiments testing how differing rates of novel host invasion may impact the ability of viruses to adaptively shift onto a novel host. To test whether the rate of environmental turnover influences adaptation, we experimentally evolved 144 Sindbis virus lineages in replicated tissue-culture environments, which transitioned from being dominated by a permissive host cell type to a novel host cell type. The rate at which the novel host 'invaded' the environment varied by treatment. The fitness (growth rate) of evolved virus populations was measured on each

SUBMITTER: Morley VJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4632612 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature