Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, 61 Biopolis Drive, 138673, Singapore. ttan@imcb.a-star.edu.sg
A series of frameshift mutations within the 3a gene has been observed in culture-derived severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). We report here that viral RNA from clinical samples obtained from SARS-CoV infected patients also contains a heterogeneous population of wild-type and mutant 3a transcripts.