title: Competition-colonization dynamics in an RNA virus.
abstract: During replication, RNA viruses rapidly generate diverse mutant progeny which differ in their ability to kill host cells. We report that the progeny of a single RNA viral genome diversified during hundreds of passages in cell culture and self-organized into two genetically distinct subpopulations that exhibited the competition-colonization dynamics previously recognized in many classical ecological systems. Viral colonizers alone were more efficient in killing cells than competitors in culture. In cells coinfected with both competitors and colonizers, viral interference resulted in reduced cell killing, and competitors replaced colonizers. Mathematical modeling of this coinfection dynamics predicted selection to be density dependent, which was confirmed experimentally. Thus, as is known for other ecological systems, biodiversity and even cell killing of virus populations can be shaped by a tradeoff between competition and colonization. Our results suggest a model for the evolution of virulence in viruses based on internal interactions within mutant spectra of viral quasispecies.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ojosnegros
authors.forename: Niko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Beerenwinkel
authors.forename: Tibor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Antal
authors.forename: Martin A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Escarmís
authors.forename: Esteban
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Domingo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002460:Cell Line; D006224:Cricetinae; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D029544:Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010802:Phylogeny; D014762:Viral Interference; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004279:DNA, Viral