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Updated: Jun 22, 2025

Isolation of Fidelity Variants of RNA Viruses and Characterization of Virus Mutation Frequency
Published on: June 16, 2011
Evolution of STAT2 resistance to flavivirus NS5 occurred multiple times despite genetic constraints
Ethan C Veit1, Madihah S Salim1, Mariel J Jung1
1Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
Abstract:
Zika and dengue virus nonstructural protein 5 antagonism of STAT2, a critical interferon signaling transcription factor, to suppress the host interferon response is required for viremia and pathogenesis in a vertebrate host. This affects viral species tropism, as mouse STAT2 resistance renders only immunocompromised or humanized STAT2 mice infectable. Here, we explore how STAT2 evolution impacts antagonism. By measuring the susceptibility of 38 diverse STAT2 proteins, we demonstrate that resistance arose numerous times in mammalian evolution. In four species, resistance requires distinct sets of multiple amino acid changes that often individually disrupt STAT2 signaling. This reflects an evolutionary ridge where progressive resistance is balanced by the need to maintain STAT2 function. Furthermore, resistance may come with a fitness cost, as resistance that arose early in lemur evolution was subsequently lost in some lemur lineages. These findings underscore that while it is possible to evolve resistance to antagonism, complex evolutionary trajectories are required to avoid detrimental host fitness consequences.
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