A3-mediated mutation frequencies in a model HIV replication system.

The ratio of white colonies to total colonies is defined as the population mutation frequency. The average number of G→A mutations per base pair in the 368 nt prot-lacZα construct is defined as the clone mutation frequency. For RT alone (no A3), all base changes were used to calculate the clone random mutation frequency which established a baseline of 0.27×10−2 mutations/bp. The RT alone condition produced a population mutation frequency of 0.07. aSignificant difference was p≤0.001 versus A3G values.