title: Stability of murine cytomegalovirus genome after in vitro and in vivo passage.
abstract: While large DNA viruses are thought to have low mutation rates, only a small fraction of their genomes have been analyzed at the single-nucleotide level. Here, we defined the genetic stability of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) by whole-genome sequencing. Independently assembled sequences of three sister plaques showed only two single-base-pair substitutions after in vitro passage. In vivo-passaged MCMV likewise demonstrated low mutation rates, comparable to those after in vitro passage, indicating high genome stability of MCMV at the single-nucleotide level in the absence of obvious selection pressure.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Tammy P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Mark C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Valentine
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Jeanette T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Pingel
authors.forename: Wayne M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D016679:Genome, Viral; D042822:Genomic Instability; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018146:Muromegalovirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA