Evolutionary dynamics of HIV at multiple spatial and temporal scales.
Alison L Hill1, Daniel I S Rosenbloom, Martin A Nowak
1Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Department of Mathematics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. alhill@fas.harvard.edu
Journal of Molecular Medicine (Berlin, Germany)
|May 4, 2012
Summary
Understanding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) evolution is key to fighting infectious diseases. This review explores HIV selection pressures from the cellular level to global spread, impacting drug resistance and vaccine development.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Virology
- Immunology
Background:
- Infectious diseases, particularly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), pose significant global health challenges.
- Understanding pathogen evolution is critical for developing effective treatments and control strategies against viruses like HIV.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the evolutionary aspects of HIV infection.
- To highlight selection pressures at multiple spatial and temporal scales.
- To discuss the implications of viral evolution on pathogenesis, drug resistance, and vaccine development.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on HIV evolution.
- Analysis of selection pressures at different levels: intracellular, within-host, and population-level.
- Exploration of evolutionary mechanisms including recombination, immune evasion, and drug resistance.
Main Results:
- HIV evolution occurs at multiple scales, from single-cell competition to inter-species adaptation.
- Viral evolution drives pathogenesis, immune evasion, and the development of antiretroviral drug resistance.
- Factors like latency, transmission routes, and vaccine introduction exert distinct selective pressures.
Conclusions:
- HIV evolution is a complex process shaped by diverse selective pressures.
- Understanding these evolutionary dynamics is essential for combating the HIV pandemic and preparing for future viral threats.
- Co-evolution between HIV and the human population may also be occurring.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
00:36Viral Mutations
A mutation is a change in the sequence of bases of DNA or RNA in a genome. Some mutations occur during replication of the genome due to errors made by the polymerase enzymes that replicate DNA or RNA. Unlike DNA polymerase, RNA polymerase is prone to errors because it is not capable of “proofreading” its work. Viruses with RNA-based genomes, like HIV, therefore accrue mutations faster than viruses with DNA-based genomes. Because mutation and recombination provide the raw material for adaptive...
01:10Retrovirus Life Cycles
Retroviruses have a single-stranded RNA genome that undergoes a special form of replication. Once the retrovirus has entered the host cell, an enzyme called reverse transcriptase synthesizes double-stranded DNA from the retroviral RNA genome. This DNA copy of the genome is then integrated into the host’s genome inside the nucleus via an enzyme called integrase. Consequently, the retroviral genome is transcribed into RNA whenever the host’s genome is transcribed, allowing the retrovirus to...
01:26Size and Structure of Viral Genomes
Viral genomes exhibit remarkable diversity in size, structure, and composition, influencing their replication strategies and interactions with host cells. These genomes consist of either DNA or RNA and may be linear or circular. Additionally, they can be single-stranded or double-stranded, with each configuration affecting how the virus propagates within a host. RNA viruses, for instance, generally have smaller genomes than DNA viruses, a factor that contributes to their high mutation rates and...
01:09Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift
In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).
01:26Evolutionary Processes in Microbes
Microbial evolution occurs rapidly due to short generation times and a variety of genetic processes, including horizontal gene transfer, mutation, recombination, and genetic drift. These mechanisms collectively enable microbes to adapt swiftly to changing environments.Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) allows genes to move between different species and occurs through three main mechanisms: conjugation, transformation, and transduction. Conjugation involves direct cell-to-cell contact for DNA...
00:57Viral Recombination
Cells are sometimes infected by more than one virus at once. When two viruses disassemble to expose their genomes for replication in the same cell, similar regions of their genomes can pair together and exchange sequences in a process called recombination. Alternatively, viruses with segmented genomes can swap segments in a process called reassortment.