HIV-1 isolates are rapidly evolving quasispecies: evidence for viral mixtures and preferred nucleotide substitutions.
RNA viruses are renowed for their genetic variability. The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are no exception. A rapid method has been established for the genetic identification and differentiation of viral strains based on the sequencing of many M13 clones of gene-amplified products. Some isolates are internally relatively homogeneous while others are heterogeneous. There was no correlation between virus complexity and disease stage. One isolate was in fact a mixture of two distinct strains. A strong preference for G----A base substitutions was observed. These data indicate that HIV isolates cannot be described in simple molecular terms and should rather be considered as quasispecies.
Laboratorie de Biologie et Immunologie Molécularies des Rétrovirus, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
M
M
Goodenow
T
T
Huet
W
W
Saurin
S
S
Kwok
J
J
Sninsky
S
S
Wain-Hobson
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005814:Genes, Viral; D014644:Genetic Variation; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D004279:DNA, Viral