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Quasispecies dynamics and fixation of a synonymous mutation in hantavirus transmission

¹ Department of Virology, Haartman Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland
² Finnish Forest Research Institute, Vantaa, Finland
³ Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
⁴ Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control and MTC, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Correspondence
Tarja Sironen
Tarja.Sironen{at}helsinki.fi

RNA-dependent RNA polymerases, the key enzymes in replication of RNA viruses, have a low fidelity; thus, these viruses replicate as a swarm of mutants termed viral quasispecies. Constant generation of new mutations allows RNA viruses to adapt swiftly to a novel environment through selection of both pre-existing and de novo-generated genetic variants. Here, quasispecies dynamics were studied in vivo in controlled hantavirus transmission from experimentally infected to naïve rodents through infested cage bedding. An elementary step of virus microevolution was apparent, as one synonymous mutation (A759G) repeatedly became fixed in the viral RNA quasispecies populations in the recipient animals.

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