Negative effects of chemical mutagenesis on the adaptive behavior of vesicular stomatitis virus

Changes in adaptability of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) upon treatment with chemical mutagens have been investigated. Results showed no improvement in virus viability or adaptability at any given level of mutagenesis. In fact, increasing inhibition of virus production and adaptability was observed with increasing levels of mutagenesis. This was true for all tested VSV variants replicating either in changing or constant host cell environments. Results also showed that mutagen-treated RNA virus populations which had undergone severe fitness declines were able to recover lost fitness completely after several large-population passages in BHK21 cells. The present findings illustrate the highly optimized states of RNA viruses and their potential to adapt readily. These results are significant for the possible development of specific antiviral agents designed to be mutagenic.