ArticlePLoS biology2018
Why are RNA virus mutation rates so damn high?
Article in PLoS biology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 390 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
390 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2): a systematic review for potential vaccines.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2022Pooled it
- Vaccination Reduces Shedding of Salmonid Alphavirus Subtype 3, but Bacterial Co-Infection Influences the Effect.Journal of fish diseases · 2026Article
- Sequence-Dependent PNA-AgNP Bioconjugation Enables Electrochemical Discrimination of a Single-Base Mutation in Zika Virus RNA.ACS omega · 2026Article
- Specific and efficient translation inhibition-transcription activation resistance module against viruses in plants.Science advances · 2026Article
- RdRpCATCH: a unified resource for RNA virus discovery using viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase profile Hidden Markov models.NAR genomics and bioinformatics · 2026Article
- Immunoglobulin heavy chain locus duplication in bats.Science advances · 2026Article
- Preparation method shapes the recovery and ecological interpretation of DNA and RNA soil viral communities.Nature communications · 2026Article
- The role of DPP4 in viral infections: from receptor biology to antiviral target.Archives of virology · 2026Review
- Packaging of Single-Stranded RNA in Viruses and Virus-Like Particles.Annual review of biochemistry · 2026Review
- Co-inoculation with deformed wing virus and sacbrood virus affects viral and immune dynamics and synergistically increases honey bee mortality.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Design, Synthesis, and Antiviral Evaluation of Novel 3,4-Dihydropyrimidin-2(1Microorganisms · 2026Article
- SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein variants have differential RNA chaperone activity.The FEBS journal · 2026Article
- Coevolutionary dynamics of viruses and their defective interfering particles.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Furin as a Novel Pan-Viral Therapeutic Target: Implications for Dengue and SARS-CoV-2.Viruses · 2026Review
- From siege to spillover: how Gaza's health crisis threatens global infection spread.International journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Unveiling alternate pathways for SARS-CoV-2 infection via extracellular vesicle-mediated transfer of ACE2 and TMPRSS2.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Cu(I)-N-Heterocyclic carbenes as potent inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 replication.Biometals : an international journal on the role of metal ions in biology, biochemistry, and medicine · 2026Article
- Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants in hospitalized patients: a cohort study from the metropolitan area of valle de Aburrá, ColombiaBiomedica : revista del Instituto Nacional de Salud · 2026Article
- Comparative analysis of deep mutational scanning datasets in enteroviruses A and B identifies functional divergence and therapeutic targets.Nature ecology & evolution · 2026Article
- Swine Enteric Coronaviruses: An Updated Overview of Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Control.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Review
330 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The high mutation rate of RNA viruses is credited with their evolvability and virulence. This Primer, however, discusses recent evidence that this is, in part, a byproduct of selection for faster genomic replication.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.