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. 1992 Apr;66(4):2491–2494. doi: 10.1128/jvi.66.4.2491-2494.1992

Heterogeneity of the mutation rates of influenza A viruses: isolation of mutator mutants.

P Suárez 1, J Valcárcel 1, J Ortín 1
PMCID: PMC289045  PMID: 1548773

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.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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