RNA viruses as complex adaptive systems

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Complex Systems Science
• Evolutionary Biology

Background:

• RNA viruses exhibit high mutation rates, leading to complex mutant distributions.
• Viral adaptation to new environments typically follows hyperbolic kinetics, slowing as fitness plateaus.
• This adaptation is often modeled as movement towards fitness peaks on rugged landscapes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate signatures of criticality and scaling in viral adaptation dynamics.
• To analyze fitness fluctuations during in vitro evolution experiments with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV).
• To determine if viral adaptation exhibits characteristics of self-organization and emergence.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of in vitro evolution data from vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV).
• Detection of long-range fitness correlations during the adaptive process.
• Statistical analysis of fitness fluctuation magnitudes using probability distribution functions.

Main Results:

• Long-range fitness correlations were detected during VSV adaptation.
• Fitness fluctuation magnitudes followed a Weibull probability distribution.
• These findings suggest a connection between viral adaptation and self-organized criticality.

Conclusions:

• Viral adaptation dynamics, characterized by fitness correlations and specific fluctuation distributions, show signatures of criticality.
• The observed patterns indicate that RNA virus adaptation may be an emergent phenomenon.
• These findings link viral evolution to broader principles of self-organization observed in complex systems.