Abstract
We present a mean-field theory for the evolution of RNA virus populations. The theory operates with a distribution of the population in a one-dimensional fitness space, and is valid for sufficiently smooth fitness landscapes. Our approach explains naturally the recent experimental observation [I. S. Novella et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 92, 5841–5844 (1995)] of two distinct stages in the growth of virus fitness.
- Received 16 January 1996
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.76.4440
©1996 American Physical Society