Locations of the nucleotide mutations in the HCV IRES.

Scheme of the secondary structure of the HCV IRES, showing the locations of the nucleotide mutations in IRES elements of sequenced quasispecies studied. The secondary structure prediction and loop numbering are based on those of Honda et al46; the coding sequence is represented by a dotted line, and the initiator AUG codon is represented in stem-loop IV. All quasispecies mutations are depicted by arrows preceded by ● for substitution, and ○ for insertion. Clone identifications are shown in parentheses.