Viral Long-Term Evolutionary Strategies Favor Stability over Proliferation.

ABSTRACT: Viruses are known to have some of the highest and most diverse mutation rates found in any biological replicator, with single-stranded (ss) RNA viruses evolving the fastest, and double-stranded (ds) DNA viruses having rates approaching those of bacteria. As mutation rates are tightly and negatively correlated with genome size, selection is a clear driver of viral evolution. However, the role of intragenomic interactions as drivers of viral evolution is still unclear. To understand how these two processes affect the long-term evolution of viruses infecting humans, we comprehensively analyzed ssRNA, ssDNA, dsRNA, and dsDNA viruses, to find which virus types and which functions show evidence for episodic diversifying selection and correlated evolution. We show that selection mostly affects si

SUBMITTER: Aris-Brosou S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6722887 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature