Dataset Information

Mutagenesis-mediated virus extinction: virus-dependent effect of viral load on sensitivity to lethal defection.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Lethal mutagenesis is a transition towards virus extinction mediated by enhanced mutation rates during viral genome replication, and it is currently under investigation as a potential new antiviral strategy. Viral load and virus fitness are known to influence virus extinction. Here we examine the effect or the multiplicity of infection (MOI) on progeny production of several RNA viruses under enhanced mutagenesis. RESULTS: The effect of the mutagenic base analogue 5-fluorouracil (FU) on the replication of the arenavirus lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) can result either in inhibition of progeny production and virus extinction in infections carried out at low multiplicity of infection (MOI), or in a moderate titer decrease without extinction at high MOI. The effect of the MOI is similar for LCMV and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), but minimal or absent for the picornaviruses foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) and encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV). The increase in mutation frequency and Shannon entropy (mutant spectrum complexity) as a result of virus passage in the presence of FU was more accentuated at low MOI for LCMV and VSV, and at high MOI for FMDV and EMCV. We present an extension of the lethal defection model that agrees with the experimental results. CONCLUSIONS: (i) Low infecting load favoured the extinction of negative strand viruses, LCMV or VSV, with an increase of mutant spectrum complexity. (ii) This behaviour is not observed in RNA positive strand viruses, FMDV or EMCV. (iii) The accumulation of defector genomes may underlie the MOI-dependent behaviour. (iv) LCMV coinfections are allowed but superinfection is strongly restricted in BHK-21 cells. (v) The dissimilar effects of the MOI on the efficiency of mutagenic-based extinction of different RNA viruses can have implications for the design of antiviral protocols based on lethal mutagenesis, presently under development.

SUBMITTER: Moreno H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3307711 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Mutagenesis-mediated virus extinction: virus-dependent effect of viral load on sensitivity to lethal defection.

Moreno Héctor H Tejero Héctor H de la Torre Juan Carlos JC Domingo Esteban E Martín Verónica V

PloS one 20120319 3

<h4>Background</h4>Lethal mutagenesis is a transition towards virus extinction mediated by enhanced mutation rates during viral genome replication, and it is currently under investigation as a potential new antiviral strategy. Viral load and virus fitness are known to influence virus extinction. Here we examine the effect or the multiplicity of infection (MOI) on progeny production of several RNA viruses under enhanced mutagenesis.<h4>Results</h4>The effect of the mutagenic base analogue 5-fluor ...[more]

PMID: 22442668

Similar Datasets

Project description:Reproduction is inherently risky, in part because genomic replication can introduce new mutations that are usually deleterious toward fitness. This risk is especially severe for organisms whose genomes replicate "semi-conservatively," e.g. viruses and bacteria, where no master copy of the genome is preserved. Lethal mutagenesis refers to extinction of populations due to an unbearably high mutation rate (U), and is important both theoretically and clinically, where drugs can extinguish pathogens by increasing their mutation rate. Previous theoretical models of lethal mutagenesis assume infinite population size (N). However, in addition to high U, small N can accelerate extinction by strengthening genetic drift and relaxing selection. Here, we examine how the time until extinction depends jointly on N and U. We first analytically compute the mean time until extinction (?) in a simplistic model where all mutations are either lethal or neutral. The solution motivates the definition of two distinct regimes: a survival phase and an extinction phase, which differ dramatically in both how ? scales with N and in the coefficient of variation in time until extinction. Next, we perform stochastic population-genetics simulations on a realistic fitness landscape that both (i) features an epistatic distribution of fitness effects that agrees with experimental data on viruses and (ii) is based on the biophysics of protein folding. More specifically, we assume that mutations inflict fitness penalties proportional to the extent that they unfold proteins. We find that decreasing N can cause phase transition-like behavior from survival to extinction, which motivates the concept of "lethal isolation." Furthermore, we find that lethal mutagenesis and lethal isolation interact synergistically, which may have clinical implications for treating infections. Broadly, we conclude that stably folded proteins are only possible in ecological settings that support sufficiently large populations.

Dataset Information

Mutagenesis-mediated virus extinction: virus-dependent effect of viral load on sensitivity to lethal defection.

Publications

Mutagenesis-mediated virus extinction: virus-dependent effect of viral load on sensitivity to lethal defection.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets