Reverse Genetics to Engineer Positive-Sense RNA Virus VariantsShalini Soni 1, Shubhra Agarwal 1, Rakesh Aggarwal 2, Naga Suresh Veerapu 1
1Virology Section, Department of Life Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, 2Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences
The protocol describes a method for introducing controllable genetic diversity in the hepatitis C virus genome by combining full-length mutant RNA synthesis using error-prone PCR and reverse genetics. The method provides a model for phenotype selection and can be used for 10 kb long positive-sense RNA virus genomes.