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.
Goodenow
M
M
Laboratorie de Biologie et Immunologie Molécularies des Rétrovirus, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Huet
T
T
Saurin
W
W
Kwok
S
S
Sninsky
J
J
Wain-Hobson
S
S
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