Population Disequilibrium as Promoter of Adaptive Explorations in Hepatitis C Virus.

ABSTRACT: Replication of RNA viruses is characterized by exploration of sequence space which facilitates their adaptation to changing environments. It is generally accepted that such exploration takes place mainly in response to positive selection, and that further diversification is boosted by modifications of virus population size, particularly bottleneck events. Our recent results with hepatitis C virus (HCV) have shown that the expansion in sequence space of a viral clone continues despite prolonged replication in a stable cell culture environment. Diagnosis of the expansion was based on the quantification of diversity indices, the occurrence of intra-population mutational waves (variations in mutant frequencies), and greater individual residue variations in mutant spectra than those anticipated

SUBMITTER: Garcia-Crespo C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8067247 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature