Viral evolution under the pressure of an adaptive immune system: optimal mutation rates for viral escape

  • Authors:

  • Christel Kamp;Claus O. Wilke;Christoph Adami;Stefan Bornholdt

  • Affiliations:

  • Institut für Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik, Universität Kiel, Leibnizstrasse 15, 24098 Kiel, Germany;Digital Life Laboratory 136-93, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California;Digital Life Laboratory 136-93, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California and Jet Propulsion Laboratory 126-347, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California;Institut für Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik, Universität Kiel, Leibnizstrasse 15, 24098 Kiel, Germany and Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Bioinformatik, Universität Le ...

  • Venue:
  • Complexity - Complex Adaptive systems: Part I
  • Year:
  • 2002

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Abstract

Based on a recent model of evolving viruses competing with an adapting immune system (Kamp and Bornholdt, Co-evolution of quasispecies: B-cell mutation rates maximize viral error catastrophes. Phys Rev Lett 88, 2002), we study the conditions under which a viral quasispecies can maximize its growth rate. We find that a virus is most viable if it generates on average precisely one mutation within the time it takes for the immune system to adapt to a new viral epitope. Experimental viral mutation rates, in particular for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), seem to suggest that many viruses have achieved their optimal mutation rate.