Abstract: In a series of experiments, we have shown that (i) a cloned virus with an engineered
Leu74Val mutation in
RT was attenuated for replication; (ii) a Val-to-Leu revertant of
Leu74Val in the pNL4-3 background replicated with an efficiency similar to that of the wild-type virus; (iii) when two isolates from the same patient were compared, a clinical isolate containing mutations
Leu74Val and
Thr215Tyr was attenuated for replication compared to one in which the
Thr215Tyr mutation alone was present; and (iv) the viruses with the
Leu74Val mutation showed an 11% loss of fitness in a single passage compared to the wild-type and a mutant virus containing a
Lys70Arg mutation.