Strain-specific epistasis shapes fitness landscapes of APOBEC3G antagonism by HIV-1 Vif proteins

Strain-specific epistasis shapes fitness landscapes of APOBEC3G antagonism by HIV-1 Vif proteins

Abstract Host immune factors shape viral evolution. The HIV-1 viral infectivity factor (Vif) protein counteracts host Apolipoprotein B Messenger RNA Editing Enzyme Catalytic Polypeptide–like 3 (A3G) to ensure productive infection. Using deep mutational scanning across two divergent HIV-1 Vif proteins, we systematically mapped and compared the mutational landscapes governing Vif antagonism of A3G. These high-resolution fitness maps reveal core pr…