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Q36 (CDS-II/2018) Science & Technology › Basic Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) › Genetics and evolution Answer Verified

Which one of the following statements explains higher mutation rate and faster evolution found in RNA virus?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: A
Explanation

RNA viruses exhibit significantly higher mutation rates and faster evolution compared to DNA viruses primarily because RNA is relatively unstable and the replication process is highly error-prone [4]. Unlike DNA replication, which utilizes DNA-dependent DNA polymerases with sophisticated proofreading capabilities, most RNA viruses rely on RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) [4]. These enzymes generally lack proofreading exonuclease activity, leading to spontaneous mutation rates up to a million times higher than their hosts [2]. This lack of a repair mechanism results in approximately 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻⁶ errors per nucleotide site per round of replication. While high mutation rates can lead to defective particles, they provide a clear evolutionary advantage by allowing viruses to generate antigenic variants that escape host immune responses and adapt rapidly to new environments [4]. Consequently, the chemical instability of the RNA genome and the low fidelity of its replication machinery drive this rapid evolution [1].

Sources

  1. [1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5075021/
  2. [4] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5850383/
  3. [2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6107253/
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