title: Heterogeneity of the mutation rates of influenza A viruses: isolation of mutator mutants.
abstract: The rates of mutation to the mar (monoclonal antibody-resistant) genotype of individual influenza virus plaque isolates, obtained from a stock generated after two successive cloning steps, have been determined by the fluctuation test. When a random sample of 60 clones was analyzed, 7 contained a proportion of mar mutants significantly higher than the average, and among them, 2 showed a mutation rate two to three times higher than the average value obtained for the virus population when the hemagglutinin-specific monoclonal antibody 2G10 was used. In order to look for mutants with higher mutation rates, a systematic search was carried out with a nonmutagenized virus stock, and several clones with increased mutation rates were isolated. One of them (mut43) was characterized further and was shown to have a mutation rate three to four times higher than that of the virus population at the sites defined by two nonoverlapping, hemagglutinin-specific monoclonal antibodies as well as at the site defined by a neuraminidase-specific monoclonal antibody. These results indicate that the mutation rate of an influenza virus is a weighted average of the contributions of a heterogeneous population. The consequences of this fact for the adaptive evolution of influenza viruses are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CSIC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Suárez
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Valcárcel
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ortín
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D002460:Cell Line; D005838:Genotype; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics*; D007700:Kinetics; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal