Currently, the expansion of the novel human respiratory coronavirus (known as SARS-CoV-
2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2], COVID-2019 [coronavirus disease …

Evolution of RNA viruses occurs through disequilibria of collections of closely related mutant
spectra or mutant clouds termed viral quasispecies. Here we review the origin of the …

Background and objectives To understand how organisms evolve, it is fundamental to study
how mutations emerge and establish. Here, we estimated the rate of mutation accumulation …

Viral quasispecies refers to a population structure that consists of extremely large numbers
of variant genomes, termed mutant spectra, mutant swarms or mutant clouds. Fueled by high …

Recombination occurs in many RNA viruses and can be of major evolutionary significance.
However, rates of recombination vary dramatically among RNA viruses, which can range …

▪ Abstract RNA viruses exploit all known mechanisms of genetic variation to ensure their
survival. Distinctive features of RNA virus replication include high mutation rates, high yields …

In experimental evolution, laboratory-controlled conditions select for the adaptation of
species, which can be monitored in real time. Despite the current popularity of such …

RNA viruses exist as genetically diverse populations. It is thought that diversity and genetic
structure of viral populations determine the rapid adaptation observed in RNA viruses and …

Microorganisms have been mutating and evolving on Earth for billions of years. Now, a field
of research has developed around the idea of using microorganisms to study evolution in …

Simple methods are presented to estimate rates of spontaneous mutation from mutant
frequencies and population parameters in RNA viruses. Published mutant frequencies yield …