
Evolution during primary HIV infection does not require adaptive immune selection
Author(s) -
David A. Swan,
Morgane Rolland,
Joshua T. Herbeck,
Joshua T Schiffer,
Daniel B. Reeves
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2109172119
Subject(s) - biology , viral evolution , population , evolutionary dynamics , phylogenetic tree , immune system , evolutionary biology , infectivity , genetic fitness , acquired immune system , virology , genetics , virus , biological evolution , gene , demography , genome , sociology
Significance HIV evolution within infected individuals creates large barriers to successful vaccination and therapy. Here, we used a model that matches viral loads and mutation rates to characterize the driving forces behind HIV evolution early during infection. Surprisingly, the best model of the data did not require explicit pressure from the host immune system. Instead, the model predicts most new viral variants are intrinsically worse at infecting new cells relative to their parents. Thus, most variants do not persist and only by occasional chance does a new fit variant come to dominate. These findings also highlight the tight connection between viral population dynamics and evolution, warranting more modeling to disentangle these processes in the future.