Pressure to change
They infected the animals with different quantities of wild-type SIV (the non-human equivalent of HIV) and escape mutant SIV.
Over the next three months, the researchers measured the growth of the virus to determine the length of time it took for the escape mutant form to revert back to its fitter wild-type state.
"In the absence of immune pressure the virus will not stay in its weakened state, because it is not beneficial for the virus," says Loh.
They found that in animals infected with the escape mutant virus it took 8 days for wild-type to appear, and 8 weeks for them to outnumber the escape mutant form.
They also found that the genetic makeup of the virus affected how fast the virus adapts in the host.
"If [the macaques] get infected with purely one strain of virus it will take longer to adapt to the new host," says Loh.
She says the study only focused on one structural part of the virus that mutates, and that there are many "other bits" that affect how the HIV evolves in an infected individual.
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