BIOLOGICAL CLONING OF FUNCTIONALLY DIVERSE QUASI-SPECIES OF HIV-1

Twenty putative clones of HIV-1, derived by biological cloning from tw o different individuals, were characterized in vitro for functional ac tivity and genotypic diversity. Many of the biological clones isolated by this method were genetically distinct, and could be further distin guished by differences in replication kinetics, host cell range, and/o r cytopathicity. Our findings indicate that biological cloning by limi ting dilution cultures is an effective method for isolating replicatio n-competent, functionally diverse quasispecies of HIV-1.