Costs and benefits of mutational robustness in RNA viruses

Adi Stern; Simone Bianco; Ming Te Yeh; Caroline Wright; Kristin Butcher; Chao Tang; Rasmus Nielsen; Raul Andino

doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2014.07.011

Costs and benefits of mutational robustness in RNA viruses

Adi Stern, Simone Bianco, Ming Te Yeh, Caroline Wright, Kristin Butcher, Chao Tang, Rasmus Nielsen, Raul Andino^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

32 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The accumulation of mutations in RNA viruses is thought to facilitate rapid adaptation to changes in the environment. However, most mutations have deleterious effects on fitness, especially for viruses. Thus, tolerance to mutations should determine the nature and extent of genetic diversity that can be maintained in the population. Here, we combine population genetics theory, computer simulation, and experimental evolution to examine the advantages and disadvantages of tolerance to mutations, also known as mutational robustness. We find that mutational robustness increases neutral diversity and, as expected, can facilitate adaptation to a new environment. Surprisingly, under certain conditions, robustness may also be an impediment for viral adaptation, if a highly diverse population contains a large proportion of previously neutral mutations that are deleterious in the new environment. These findings may inform therapeutic strategies that cause extinction of otherwise robust viral populations.

Original language	English
Journal	Cell Reports
Volume	8
Issue number	4
Pages (from-to)	1026-1036
Number of pages	11
ISSN	2211-1247
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2014.07.011
Publication status	Published - 21 Aug 2014

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AU - Stern, Adi

AU - Bianco, Simone

AU - Yeh, Ming Te

AU - Wright, Caroline

AU - Butcher, Kristin

AU - Tang, Chao

AU - Nielsen, Rasmus

AU - Andino, Raul

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N2 - The accumulation of mutations in RNA viruses is thought to facilitate rapid adaptation to changes in the environment. However, most mutations have deleterious effects on fitness, especially for viruses. Thus, tolerance to mutations should determine the nature and extent of genetic diversity that can be maintained in the population. Here, we combine population genetics theory, computer simulation, and experimental evolution to examine the advantages and disadvantages of tolerance to mutations, also known as mutational robustness. We find that mutational robustness increases neutral diversity and, as expected, can facilitate adaptation to a new environment. Surprisingly, under certain conditions, robustness may also be an impediment for viral adaptation, if a highly diverse population contains a large proportion of previously neutral mutations that are deleterious in the new environment. These findings may inform therapeutic strategies that cause extinction of otherwise robust viral populations.

AB - The accumulation of mutations in RNA viruses is thought to facilitate rapid adaptation to changes in the environment. However, most mutations have deleterious effects on fitness, especially for viruses. Thus, tolerance to mutations should determine the nature and extent of genetic diversity that can be maintained in the population. Here, we combine population genetics theory, computer simulation, and experimental evolution to examine the advantages and disadvantages of tolerance to mutations, also known as mutational robustness. We find that mutational robustness increases neutral diversity and, as expected, can facilitate adaptation to a new environment. Surprisingly, under certain conditions, robustness may also be an impediment for viral adaptation, if a highly diverse population contains a large proportion of previously neutral mutations that are deleterious in the new environment. These findings may inform therapeutic strategies that cause extinction of otherwise robust viral populations.

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Costs and benefits of mutational robustness in RNA viruses

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